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The 21st century is the current century in the Anno Domini or Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 and will end on 31 December 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium.
The rise of a global economy and Third World consumerism marked the beginning of the century, along with increased private enterprise and deepening concern over terrorism after the September 11 attacks in 2001.[1][2][3] The NATO interventions in Afghanistan, the United States-led coalition intervention in Iraq in the early 2000s, and the overthrow of several regimes during the Arab Spring in the early 2010s, led to mixed outcomes in the Arab world, resulting in several civil wars and political instability.[4] The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine became the largest conventional military offensive in Europe since World War II, resulting in a refugee crisis and disruptions to global trade. The United States has remained the sole global superpower while China is now considered an emerging superpower.
In 2022, 45% of the world's population lived in "some form of democracy", although only 8% lived in "full democracies."[5] The United Nations estimates that by 2050, two thirds of the world's population will be urbanized.
The world economy expanded at high rates from $42 trillion in 2000 to $94 trillion in 2021, though many economies rose at greater levels, some gradually contracted.[a] The European Union greatly expanded in the 21st century, adding 13 member states, but the United Kingdom withdrew. Most EU member states introduced a common currency, the Euro. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was also greatly expanded, adding 13 member states.
Effects of global warming and rising sea levels exacerbated the ecological crises, with eight islands disappearing between 2007 and 2014.[6][7][8]
From January 2020 to May 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic began to rapidly spread worldwide, killing over 15 million people around the globe,[9] and causing severe global economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression. COVID-19 vaccines were widely deployed in various countries beginning in December 2020. Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control.[10]
Due to the sudden proliferation of internet-accessible mobile devices, such as smartphones becoming ubiquitous worldwide beginning in the early 2010s, more than half of the world's population obtained access to the Internet by 2018.[11] After the success of the Human Genome Project, DNA sequencing services became available and affordable.[12][13]
- ^ "Majority of Americans distrust the government". Reuters. 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Lake, David A. "Rational Extremism: Understanding Terrorism in the Twenty-first Century according to Kathii Erick Gitonga" (PDF). quote.ucsd.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Working with Private Industry | Research Pages | The Stimson Center | Pragmatic Steps for Global Security". www.stimson.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Fisher, Marc (20 December 2011). "Arab Spring yields different outcomes in Bahrain, Egypt and Libya". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ McCarthy, Niall. "The Best And Worst Countries For Democracy [Infographic]". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ Klein, Alice. "Eight low-lying Pacific islands swallowed whole by rising seas". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "Township in Solomon Islands Is 1st in Pacific to Relocate Due to Climate Change". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard". WHO. 26 July 2023. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Gopinath, Gita (14 April 2020). "The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression". IMF. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Digital in 2018: World's internet users pass the 4 billion mark". We Are Social. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ Gent, Edd (8 March 2020). "$100 Genome Sequencing Will Yield a Treasure Trove of Genetic Data". Singularity Hub. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Molteni, Megan (19 November 2018). "Now You Can Sequence Your Whole Genome for Just $200". Wired. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2019 – via www.wired.com.
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