2000s Overall

The 2000s was a decade in which world population grew from 5.8 to 6.8. The early part of the decade saw the long predicted breakthrough of economic giant China which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. To the lesser extent India also benefited from an economic boom, which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force.

The outbreak of the global financial crisis during 2007-2008 sparked a global recession, beginning in the US and affecting most of the industrialized world.

The growth of the Internet contributed to globalization during the decade, which allowed faster communication among people around the world. Social networking sites arose as a new way for people to stay in touch from distant locations as long as they had an internet connection.

Here are 10 significant events from this exciting decade:

#1 – Dot.Com Bubble (2000)

Dot-com bubble was a stock market bubble caused by excessive speculation of early Internet companies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During this period several start-up website companies witnessed a massive growth. Many other brick-and-mortar companies also benefited from this growth by adopting Internet technologies. Between 1995 and 2000 Nasdaq Composite stock market index rose 400% but fell 78% from its peak by October 2002. During the crash many online shopping companies as well as several communication companies failed and shut down. Some companies – such as Cisco, Amazon and Qualcomm – lost large proportions of their market capitalization, yet survived the storm.

#2 – 9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks by a militant terrorist group against the United States on September 11, 2001. During the attack four commercial airliners traveling from the northeastern US to California were hijacked mid-flight by 19 terrorists. The hijackers were organized into three groups and each group had one hijacker who took over control of the aircraft. Their explicit goal was to crash each plane into a prominent American building and causing mass casualties. Two of the planes hit World Trade Center’s twin towers and a third hit the west side of the Pentagon.

The destruction of the World Trade Center and nearby infrastructure seriously harmed the economy of New York City and created a global economic recession. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent similar attacks. The US and Canadian civilian airspaces were closed until September 13 while Wall Street trading was closed until September 17.

The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities and over 25,000 injuries and substantial long-term health consequences, in addition to at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in human history.

#3 – Iraq War (2003-2011)

The Iraq War was an armed conflict from 2003 to 2011 that began with the invasion of Iraq by the US-led coalition which overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. An estimated 151,000 to 1,033,000 Iraqis died in the three to five years of conflict. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. The invasion occurred as part of George W. Bush administration’s War on Terror following September 11 attacks, despite controversial connection of the latter to Iraq.

In October 2002, US Congress granted President Bush the power to decide whether to launch any military attack in Iraq. The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003 when the US-lead coalition launched a “shock and awe” bombing campaign. Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as coalition forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Ba’athist government. Saddam Hussein himself was captured in December of the same year and executed three years later.

The power vacuum following Saddam’s demise led to widespread civil war in the country. The US responded with a build-up of 170,000 troops in 2007. This build-up gave greater control to Iraq’s government and military, and was judged a success by many. In 2008, President Bush agreed to a withdrawal of all US combat troops from Iraq. The withdrawal was completed under President Obama in 2011.

#4 – Boxing Day Tsunami (2004)

The “Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami” occurred on December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was an under-sea-mega-thrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1-9.3, reaching Mercalli intensity up to IX in certain areas.

A Series of massive tsunami waves grew up to 30 meters high once heading inland after being created by the underwater seismic activity offshore. Communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean were devestated, and the tsunamis killed an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

The direct results caused major disruptions to living conditions and commerce in coastal provinces of surrounded countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

#5 – Global Recession (2007-2008)

The financial crisis of 2007-2008 – which is also known as the global financial crisis – was a severe worldwide economic crisis. Prior to Covid-19 recession in 2020, it was considered by many economists to have bene the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Predatory lending to low-income homebuyers, excessive risk-taking by global financial institutions and the bursting of the United States housing bubble culminated in a “perfect storm”. Mortgage-backed securities tied to American real estate as well as a vast web of derivatives linked to those securities collapsed in value. Financial institutions worldwide suffered severe damage, reaching a climax with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 and a subsequent international banking crisis.

After the onset of the crisis, governments deployed massive bail-outs of financial institutions and other fiscal policies to prevent a collapse of the global financial system. The crisis sparked the Great Recession which resulted in increases in unemployment and suicide and decreases in institutional trust.

#6 – Iranian Nuclear Program (2002-2006)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched an investigation in 2003 after an Iranian dissident group revealed undeclared nuclear activities carried out by Iran. In 2006, because of Iran’s non-compliance with its NPT obligations, the UN Security Council demanded that Iran suspend its enrichment programs.

In 2007, the US National Intelligence Estimate stated that Iran halted an alleged active nuclear weapons program in fall 2003. In November 2011, the IAEA reported credible evidence that Iran had been conducting experiments aimed at designing a nuclear bomb until 2003 and that research may have continued on a smaller scale after that time.

As of 2015, Iran’s nuclear program has cost $100B in lost oil revenues and lost foreign direct investment because of international sanctions.

#7 – Hurricane Katrina (2005)

Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans that the surrounding areas. It was at the time the costliest tropical cyclone on record and is now tied with 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.

Flooding, caused largely as a result of fatal engineering flaws in the flood protection system around the city of New Orleans, precipitated most of the loss of lives. Eventually 80% of the city as well as large tracts of neighboring parishes were inundated for weeks. The flooding also destroyed most of New Orleans’s transportation and communication facilities, leaving tens of thousands of people who had not evacuated the city prior to landfall stranded with little access to food, shelter or basic necessities.

The scale of the disaster in New Orleans provoked massive national and international response efforts, federal, local and private rescue operations displaced persons out of the city over the following weeks. Multiple investigations in the aftermath of the storm concluded that US Army Corps of Engineers – which had designed and built the region’s levees decades earlier – was responsible for the failure of the flood-control systems, though federal courts later ruled that the Corps could not be held financially liable because of sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928.

#8 – Launch of Facebook and Widespread Use of Social Media (2004)

Facebook, an American online social media and social networking service, was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with his fellow Harvard College students and roommate. Its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. As of 2020, Facebook claimed 2.8 billion monthly active users, and ranked 7th in global internet usage.

The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy, political manipulation, mass surveillance, psychological effects (such as addition) and low self-esteem issues. Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of “fake news” and conspiracy theories, as well as exaggering its number of users to appeal to advertisers.

#9 – Corporate Scandals (Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers) (2001-2007)

Enron, one of the top energy companies of its time, and Arthur Andersen, one of the top 5 public accounting firms, were caught in a corporate fraud scandal that led to the bankruptcy of Enron and the dissolution Arthur Andersen.

Enron hid billions of dollars of debt from its shareholders in failed deals and projects. Furthermore, it pressured its auditors, Arthur Anderson, to ignore the issues. Shareholders lost more than $60 billion.

This led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which expanded penalties for accounting fraud and instructed accounting firms to remain independent of their clients.

Other firms such as Tyco and WorldCom experienced similar scandals. These scandals shook the securities markets and investor confidence.

#10 – China and India Grow as Financial Powers

During the 2000s China and India continued their exponential growth and became significant players in the financial world. China along grew at an average rate of 9.8% during the previous two decades. India and China together today account for one-third of the world’s population.

Countries like the US initially started outsourcing work to China and India because of cheap labor but this is no longer the case. They kept their work in two countries because of the talented workforce. Each year millions of scientists and engineers are educated in India and China, compared to much lower number in the US.

Don’t forget to see my other articles about top 10 iconic events of 1990s and 2010s:

• 10 Significant Events of 1990s
• 10 Significant Events of 2010s