page_title: 21st century
section_title: 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: 21st century / Events / 2000s
caption_attribution_description: English: Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev after signing the "New START" treaty in Prague
context_page_description: The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium.
  The beginning of the 21st century has been marked by the rise of a global economy and Third World consumerism, deepening global concern over terrorism and an increase in private enterprise. Effects of global warming and rising sea levels continued, with eight islands disappearing between 2007 and 2014. The Arab Spring of the early 2010s led to mixed outcomes in the Arab world, resulting in several civil wars and governments overthrown.
  The United States has remained the only global superpower, although China is generally considered an emerging superpower.
  In 2017, about half of the world's population lived in "some form of democracy", though only 4.5 percent lived in "full democracies".
  The European Union has greatly expanded in the 21st century, adding
  13 member states. Most member states of the European Union introduced a common currency, the Euro, and the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union.
context_section_description: 1998–2003 – The Second Congo War continued into the early 21st century. A 1999 ceasefire quickly broke down and a UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, was unable to control the fighting. Troops from Rwanda and Uganda continued to support rebel groups against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and rifts also grew between Rwanda and Uganda as they accused each other of supporting rival rebel groups as well. Laurent Kabila, president of the DRC, was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila, took power. Throughout 2002 steps were made towards peace and Rwanda and Uganda both removed their troops from the country. On December 17, 2002, a massive treaty officially ended the war. However, the DRC only holds power in less than half of the country, with most of the eastern and northern portions still controlled by rebel groups, where there is still significant infighting. In addition, Rwanda still supports anti-DRC rebels and anti-Rwandan rebels continue to operate from the DRC. The war killed an estimated 3.9 million people, displaced nearly 5.5 million, and led to a widespread and ongoing famine that continues to result in deaths. Severe human rights violations continue to be reported.
  2001 – The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on 1 June 2001, at a house on the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, the residence of the Nepalese monarchy. Ten members of the family were killed during a party or monthly reunion dinner of the royal family in the house. The dead included King Birendra of Nepal and Queen Aishwarya.
  2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States. He is the second president from the Bush family.
  2001 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo becomes the second woman President of the Philippines and the first to be the child of a previous President, Diosdado Macapagal.
  2001 – More than 200,000 anti-globalization protesters marched in Genoa, during the 27th G8 summit. Two demonstrators were killed by the Italian police. On July 21 a group of Carabinieri attacked the school Armando Diaz, seriously injuring many peaceful protesters. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insisted that police used the minimum amount of force necessary to achieve their goals.
  2001 – Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four commercial airliners and crash two of them into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania of the United States on September 11, killing nearly 3,000 people. The United States subsequently declares the War on Terror.
  2001–2014 – The Northern Alliance and NATO-led ISAF invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, and overthrew the Al-Qaeda-supportive Taliban government. Troops remained to install a democratic government, fight a slowly escalating insurgency, and to hunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was killed by American troops nearly 10 years later, on May 2, 2011. On December 24, 2014, NATO forces officially ended combat operations in Afghanistan; but forces still remain to the present.
  2001 – The Netherlands become the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
  2001 – After 15 years of negotiations, the People's Republic of China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 December 2001.
  2002 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established on July 1.
  2002 – Switzerland, a neutral country, becomes a member of the United Nations, on September 10.
  2002 – Jemaah Islamiyah, a violent Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the detonation of three bombs in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people and 209 people were injured.
  2002 – After a long period of occupation by Indonesia, East Timor's independence is recognized by Portugal and by the UN.
  2002 – Hu Jintao becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, making him the paramount leader of China after Jiang Zemin.
  2003–present – In February 2003, a conflict in Darfur, Sudan, began and soon escalated into full-scale war. By 2008 it was believed that up to 400,000 people had been kill
caption: Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after signing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
exif: {}