Around calendars based on a Christian Era or Common Era, such as a Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the todays century, as of this writing.

By a select few interpretations, it lives from either 2001 to 2100, and a 3rd millennium lasts from 2001 to 3000. This is according to a argument that there was there are no Season Zero, then a first century began in month 1 [http://www.astronomyboy.com/millennium/]. Yet, most common usage most invariably regards a 21st century when lasting from either 2000 to 2099. Inside 2000 the ISO implicitly backed this common usage by creating the calendar that incorporates a Year Zero (watch 20th century). Inside practice, a wonder of most common usage seems definitively settled per wide apply of January First, 2000 to mark a beginning of the 21st century. Decades come well-nigh universally considered when starting by having a "0" season & known as accordingly ("2010s", etc.).

Similar to the 20th century's place in popular culture when a share of list like 20th Century Fox, the 21st century has been utilized in the list of the total of corporations & organizations.

Overview

A 21st century has got an influence in culture since swell prior to it began. Speculation just about first, social, ethnical, & technical trends oftentimes centered on the month 2000, starting with late-19th century essays and novels (typically of the utopian nature and severity) like Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward. It's been said that a event horizon of Western civilization wwhen steadily shrinking therein time, since when late as a 1990s people were still typically focusing on the season 2000 in their discussions of the future.

Religious beliefs within the "millennial apocalypse" were supplemented by echt concerns all about a Y2k computer "bug" and about possible terrorist attacks centered on the year-2000 celebrations, but the actual turn of the millennium (both the popularly-celebrated one in 2000 and the "purist" one in 2001) went by in a fairly anticlimactic manner.

All a same, the years since own continued in the riotous manner humans of the 20th century were accustomed to expect, sustaining wars, act of terrorism, & more conflicts, besides when continued advances around science & technology including a continuing expansion of a utilize of computers & a Internet (despite the "tech bubble burst" in which a overexuberance of early Internet corporations was deflated).

Further Y2k-style computer date failures flow from prior to a prevent of a 21st century; the Unix datestamps, consisting of a count of the total of seconds since 1970, may overflow in 2038, while a personal of operating systems descended from MS-DOS (including the various versions of Microsoft Windows) can't cover dates beyond 2099.

Important developments, events, achievements

Politics
2003 International Criminal Court opens 2004 EU Enlargement: 10 countries join 2005 UN Security Council decides war criminals in Darfur will be tried by the International Criminal Court (Guide 1593) [http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions05.htm] 2003 - 2005 A series of non-violent revolutions referred to as a color revolutions overthrew authoritarian regimes in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon.

Science and technology
2002 Mars Odyssey arrives in orbit in the area of Mars. 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster February 1 2003 Dolly the sheep dies prematurely February 14 2003 Chinese space program launches its first manned space flight, Shenzhou 5 October 15. 2003 Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spreads around a world. 2004 Mars rovers discover evidence of in all likelihood readily a lake in Mars. Two come however within service when of 2005. 2004 Cassini-Huygens probe arrives at Saturn. 2004 SpaceShipOne makes first privately-funded human spaceflight, June 21 2005 Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, January 14 2005 Deep Impact probe impacts Comet Tempel 1 July 4.

Wars, battles, and terrorism
September 11, 2001 attacks 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan 12 October 2002 Bali bombing 2003 Invasion of Iraq 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis 7 July 2005 London bombings 21 July 2005 London bombings

Largest mass killings
Second Congo War, approximately Single.8 million deaths (Ternion.8 million since 1998) Darfur conflict, approximately 200,000 deaths U.S. Invasion in Iraq, most estimates claim 30,000 – 50,000 Iraqi and 2,100 coalition deaths. The Lancet recently estimated 100,000 Iraqis stand died following of the invasion. [http://www.countthecasualties.org.uk/docs/robertsetal.pdf] Civil War inside Ivory Coast, 3,000 deaths September 11, 2001 attacks, 2,749 – 2,752 deaths

Moreover, there are many wars & despotism continuing from either a 20th century. Mostly a total of deaths it stimulated in a period of the 21st century is unknown.

Understand likewise [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wars21c.htm].

Natural disasters

Earthquake within Bam, Iran on December 27, 2003 killed more than 26,000 population. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, in which a sequent tsunami killed approximately 310,000 within Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries in the region. 2005 U.S Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina - a Category Four hurricane impacts the Gulf Coast, swollen New Orleans in Louisiana, most of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. A todays total of fatalities stands at 1,277. This hurricane surpassed Hurricane Andrew inside cost of damage, becoming a costliest natural disaster in U.S history. Earthquake in Kashmir on October 8, 2005; over 25,000 humans come confirmed dead around India and Pakistan.

Sport

2005- the 100 meters record is broken by Jamaican Asafa Powell (9.77 seconds) 2005- Lance Armstrong wins his 7th sequentially Tour de France and retires. 2005- Liverpool F.C. overcomes a 3-0 halftime deficit to A.C. Milan to win the 2004/2005 UEFA Champions League. Liverpool win Four-Three in penalties. It was Liverpool's fifth Champions League triumph. 2004- The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 0. 2004- Greece wins the European Football Championship for the first period. 2004- Lance Armstrong wins his 6th sequentially Tour de France, becoming the foremost bicycler to win it six days. 2003- Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman interferes with the foul ball during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Like than a Cubs recording a out- & probably a win- a Florida Marlins won Stake 6 and Game Sevener on the way to their 2nd-ever Globe Series win. 2002- Brazil win the Football World Cup becoming a number one team to win the trophy V days. 2001- Barry Bonds breaks Mark McGwire's single-year house do record by owning 73. 2001- NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt dies after hitting a wall on the endure lap of the Daytona 500. Earnhard's boy- Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed a tearful victory in the next race held at Daytona, less than four months later.

Issues and concerns

A select few of the items that keep close at h& dominated discussion and debate therein century include:

Globalization. Advances in telecommunications and transportation, the expansion of capitalism and democracy, and free trade agreements have resulted around unprecedented spherical economic & ethnical integration. This has driven (& is continuing to reason) immense economic & ethnic shifts which keep around been a subject of considerable contestation.

Overpopulation. The United Nations [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/24/un.population/ estimates] that world people may email Ix.One billion by mid-century. Such incubation raises questions of ecological sustainability and creates many economic and political disruptions. Around response, several countries keep around adopted policies which either click or even encourage their citizens to st& fewer youngsters, and others develop limited immigration. Considerable debate is across what a ultimate carrying capacity of the planet could be; whether or even does'nt people incubation containment policies come necessary; to what degree incubation can safely occur thanks to increased economic & ecological efficiency; you said it markets should accommodate demographic shifts. Grounds to believe forms that developed countries (like Japan) suffer population implosion, & a people debate is strongly attached sustaining impoverishment.

Poverty. Poverty remains a root are causal agents for of numbers of of the globe's more complaint, including famine, disease, and deficient education. Impoverishment contains numerous self-reinforcing elements (e.g., poorness might produce education an unaffordable luxury, which tends to symptom inside continuing impoverishment) that various help groups hope to rectify in that century.

Disease. AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria each kill concluded the million population annually. HIV remains without the curative or even vaccinum, & is growing quickly around India and much of the African continent. Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern for organisms like tuberculosis. More diseases, like SARS, ebola, and flu variations, are too induces for concern. The World Health Organization has [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3524824.stm warned] of a imaginable coming grippe pandemic resulting from bird flu mutations.

War and Terrorism. Dozens of active conflicts rage around the world, including civil wars around Congo, Indonesia, Chechnya, Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, Nepal, Senegal, Colombia, and what some called a genocide in Darfur, Sudan. A September 11, 2001 attacks triggered invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. A War on Terror has seen controversies on top civil liberties, accusations of torture, continued terrorist attacks, & on-going instability, violence, and military occupation. Violence continues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Considerable concern remains all about nuclear proliferation, especially in Iran and North Korea, and a availableness of weapons of mass destruction to rogue groups.

Climate change. Most man of science require that important anthropogenic climate change may occur when you took a 21st century, resultant within unprecedented economic & ecological costs. Others dispute a nature and severity of the condition. Trends like global warming, pollution, biodiversity loss and resource depletion all are growing factors that may contribute to important issues in that century. Water in particular is an area of good concern. Another instance of important resource depletion is evident around oil production, which some scholars predict may email the peak early in this century, so commence the lasting downwardly trend.

Spherical power. Issues surrounding a ethnical, economic, & military dominance of the United States and its role in a world community stand get potentially thomas more pointed given its recent military activities, problematic relations using the United Nations, disagreement over many international pact, & its economic policies by having regard to globalisation. Integration of the European Union and the African Union have proceeded.

Intellectual property. a increasing popularity of digital formats for amusement media like motion-picture show & music, & a ease of copying & distributing it via the Internet and peer-to-peer networks, has raised concerns in the media industry about piracy. Great deal debate is proceeding all about a proper bounds between protection of copyright, trademark and patent rights versus fair use and the public domain, where a select few argue that such laws keep around shifted greatly towards rational landowner & out of a interests of a general public within recent years, spell others say that such legal vary is required to treat by having a threat of recently technologies against a rights of authors & creative person (or even, when others put it, against the passee business system of the todays show business). Domain name "cybersquatting" and access to patented doses to combat epidemics inside third-globe countries come more IP concerns.

Technology developments show there is no sign of ending. Communications and control technology continues to augment the intelligence of single homo, collections of man, & machines. Cultures come forced into a positiin of sharply defining humanity & determining boundaries on want, thought, communication, behavior, & manufacturing.

A United Nations lists global issues in its agenda [http://www.un.org/issues/ here] & lists the placed of [http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ Millennium Goals] to attempt to location a select few one issues.

Significant people

Influential people in politics as of 2005
(within alphabetical choose)

Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom George W. Bush, President of the United States of America Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela Fidel Castro, President of Cuba Jacques Chirac, President of France Vicente Fox, President of Mexico Jean Chrétien, former Prime Minister of Canada Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of Italy Luis Inácio da Silva, President of Brazil Luigi R. Einaudi, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China Saddam Hussein, deposed President of Iraq, currently held by United states of america forces Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran Kim Jong-il, General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party and chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda leader Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada Thabo Mbeki, South African president and todays leader of the African Union Pervez Musharraf Pakistani President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State Karl Rove, President Bush's senior advisor, primary political strategian, & deputy chief of staff inside charge of policy. Dr. Manmohan Singh Indian Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder, German Bundeskanzler (chancellor) Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel Javier Solana, Foreign policy chief of the European Union Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of Spain Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia Vladimir Putin (Владимир Путин), President of Russia

Influential people in religion as of 2005
Pope John Paul II Pope Benedict XVI A Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso Founder of Falun Gong, Li Hongzhi Ayatollah Khamenei Stanley Hauerwas, proclaimed in 2001 "America's Best Theologian" Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Influential people in technology as of 2005
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corporation Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of the Google search engine Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel

Influential people in science as of 2005
Stephen Hawking Brian Greene

Influential people in mathematics as of 2005
Laurent Lafforgue Grigori Perelman

View likewise: Timeline of the future in forecasts

Astronomical events and predictions
Tuesday, June 8, 2004: Transit of Venus occurs after 122 years Fully eclipse of moon during World Series, 2004 November 8, 2006: Transit of Mercury 2009: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Neptune 2010/2011: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus Wednesday, June 6, 2012: Transit of Venus to occur a second instance this century May 9, 2016: Transit of Mercury Monday, August 21, 2017: First aggregate solar eclipse of the 21st century for the United States, and a number 1 seeable in the continental U.s.a. since February 26, 1979. November 11: Transit of Mercury 2024 (plus or even minus Fin years): Next foretold link to of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. 2025/2026: Triple conjunction Saturn-Neptune Friday, April 13, 2029: The asteroid 99942 Apophis (previously better known by its provisional designation 20Quadruplet MN₄) may pass in 30,000 klick (18,600 mi) of the Globe. November 13, 2032: Transit of Mercury 2037/2038: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus November 7, 2039: Transit of Mercury 2041/2042: Triple conjunction Mars-Uranus October 1, 2044: Occultation of Regulus by Venus. A previous get on July 7, 1959. Fallowing 2044 a next eclipse of Regulus by Venus may occur in October 21, 3187, although some sources claim it might occur once again in October 6, 2271. 2047/2048: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Neptune May 7, 2049: Transit of Mercury November 9, 2052: Transit of Mercury 2061: Next return of Comet Halley. 2063: Triple conjunction Mars-Uranus November 11, 2065: Transit of Mercury November 22, 2065: At 12:45 UTC, Venus will occult Jupiter. This event is the number one eclipse of a planet by a second since January 3, 1818. Unluckily this event is super hard to watch, because a elongation of Venus & Jupiter from either a Sun on it date is merely Seven degrees. 2066: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus July 15, 2067: At 11:56 UTC, Mercury will occult Neptune. Alas this uncommon event will be very hard to watch. 2071/2072: Triple conjunction Mars-Neptune November 14, 2078: Transit of Mercury 2079: Triple conjunction Saturn-Uranus August 11, 2079: At 01:30 UTC, Mercury will occult Mars Friday, November 10, 2084: Transit of Earth as seen from Mars November 7, 2085: Transit of Mercury 2085/2086: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Neptune October 27, 2088: At 13:43 UTC, Mercury will occult Jupiter 2088/2089: Triple conjunction Mars-Neptune 2093: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus April 7, 2094: At 10:48 UTC, Mercury will occult Jupiter May 8, 2095: Transit of Mercury November 10, 2098: Transit of Mercury

Science fiction set in the 21st century
Television and film

Virtually all of 2001: A Space Odyssey is set inside 2001. A films Strange Days and Until the End of the World were both placed at a conversion between a Twentieth & 21st centuries. A vary of century was an crucial plot element around each films. A cases of Stargate SG-1 continue into the early 21st century. Stargate Atlantis is set in the early 21st century. A Star Trek: Enterprise episode Carpenter Street takes place in 2004. Section of Back to the Future Part II is set around 2015. A Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is also set inside 2015. A modern classic film Blade Runner takes place in November, 2019. Each area of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode 'Past Tense' take place in the 2020s. A Japanese anime indicate The Super Dimension Fortress Macross spans the years 2009 to 2012 (its final episode takes place in New Year's Day, 2012; and an direct to video epilogue featurette takes place in September 2012). Its prequel & sequels choose place around 2008 (Macross Zero), 2040 (Macross Plus) and 2045 (Macross 7). a dramatized historical fiction motion-picture show just about the Number 1 Space War, Macross: Do You Remember Love, is filmed in 2030. A U.s. cartoon indicate Robotech, composed from a footage of leash unrelated anime series (including Macross, above) spans the years 2009 to 2015, 2030-2031 and 2044-2045. Demolition Man is set inside 2032. I, Robot was set around 2035. Minority Report was set within 2054. A 1998 remaking of Lost in Space was set inside 2058. Virtually all of Star Trek: First Contact takes place in 2063. Inside Star Trek canon, a person Zefram Cochrane develops faster-than-weak travel & makes number one call for by owning an alien race when you took this month. A Jukebox cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot is set inside 2072. A Japanese anime indicate Cowboy Bebop is set within 2071. equilibrium is set within 2072. Total Recall is set inside 2084. The Jetsons is supposed to take place in the late 21st century. Due to the instance-travel nature and severity of its stories, Doctor Who has taken place at various points during a 21st century. The Transformers: The Motion-picture show is placed in the month 2005. A subsequent Generation Deuce Transformers television series will require place fallowing a cases of the film.

Computer games
Uplink is set on the net of the month 2010. Perfect Dark is set around 2023. A races around San Francisco Rush 2049 take place in 2049. A cases of Deus Ex take place in 2052. System Shock is set around 2072. Future Cop: LAPD takes place in the year 2098. A discovery of the Zohar inside Xenosaga takes place in 20XX. A Great War of the Fallout universe starts on October 23, 2077; nuclear bombs are launched, nobody knows world health organization a aggressor was. A Classic Megaman franchise supposedly begins inside 200X (circa 2008?). Megaman Three introduces a 20XX enumeration scheme (circa 2010?) A cases of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne occur in 20XX.

Novels
Tad Williams' Otherland series is set at occasionally vague point in the 21st century Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age is also placed in a 21st century, when a select few disaster befell the centralised telephone network. This led humans to build the decentralised network, which it utilized to transport money, so destroying normal methods of taxation & bringing down virtually all big governments. Red Mars of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy begins in 2027. A select few books by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky are set inside 21st century

Decades and years