21st century

◍ Open on the globe

2001 – 2100 · 14 events

What happened around the world

Whole world

2008 Global financial crisis — Lehman Brothers' collapse plunges the world into recession

Europe

2002 Euro notes and coins — Twelve countries swap francs, marks and lire for one currency
2012 Discovery of the Higgs boson — The collider finds the Standard Model's missing piece

Middle East

2003–2011 Iraq War — A US-led coalition topples Saddam Hussein
2010 Burj Khalifa opens — 828 metres: Dubai builds the tallest structure on Earth

Africa

2010–2012 Arab Spring — A protest in Tunisia sparks uprisings across the region

Asia

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami — Waves strike 14 countries, leaving about 230,000 dead
2006 Baiji declared functionally extinct — The first whale or dolphin lost to human activity
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami — Waves cripple Fukushima: worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl

Americas

2001 September 11 attacks — Hijacked planes strike New York and the Pentagon
2003 Human genome sequenced — A map of 3 billion DNA letters opens genomic medicine
2007 Apple unveils the iPhone — Touchscreen and web in a pocket — the smartphone age
2012 Death of Lonesome George — Pinta's last tortoise, a global symbol of extinction, dies
2012 AlexNet sparks the deep-learning revolution — A GPU-trained network kicks off the modern AI boom

Who ruled

Rus and Russia: Putin 2000 – 2008, Medvedev since 2008, Putin since 2012
England and Britain: Elizabeth II since 1952
Franks and France: Fifth Republic since 1958
US presidents: Clinton 1993 – 2001, G. W. Bush 2001 – 2009, Obama since 2009
China: dynasties: People's Republic since 1949
Japan: shoguns & emperors: Emperor Akihito (Heisei era) since 1989
India: empires: Republic of India since 1947

Largest states