2000s

Centuries: 20th century - 21st century - 22nd century

Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s - 2000s - 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s 2050s

Years: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

• Globalization
• September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on New York's World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon killing about 3000 people
• 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban regime in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
• International Criminal Court exists as of 1 July 2002, used for judging war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide
• 2003 invasion of Iraq to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power

In keeping with naming decades (cf. 1990s "the Nineties", 1980s "the Eighties", etc.), the decade of the 2000s lacks an accepted name, so far; it is named "the Noughties" by some (referring to the nought, or zero, as the decade indicator, but the word-play on "naughty" is intentional). In keeping with the practice of the nineteenth century, it could also be called "the Aughts" or "Oughts;" it could also be referred to using the term 'nil' as the "nillies".

World Leaders

• President Jiang Zemin (People's Republic of China)
• President Hu Jintao (People's Republic of China)
• President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
• President Jacques Chirac (France)
• Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Germany)
• Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (India)
• President Mohammad Khatami (Iran)
• President Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
• Prime Minister Ehud Barak (Israel)
• Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (Israel)
• Emperor Akihito (Japan)
• President Yasser Arafat (Palestinian Authority)
• Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority)
• Pope John Paul II
• President Vladimir Putin (Russia)
• President Thabo Mbeki (South Africa)
• Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Tony Blair (United Kingdom)
• President Bill Clinton (United States)
• President George W. Bush (United States)

Entertainers

• Tom Hanks
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Nicole Kidman
• Moby
• Mike Myers (Austin Powers)
• Adam Sandler
• M. Night Shyamalan
• Bruce Willis
• U2
• Eminem

Music

• Badly Drawn Boy[?] (The Hour of Bewilderbeast[?])
• Britney Spears (Oops!...I Did It Again)
• Common (Like Water for Chocolate[?])
• DMX (The Great Depression[?])
• Eminem (The Marshall Mathers LP)
• Enrique Iglesias[?] (Escape)
• The Hives (Veni Vidi Vicious[?])
• J. Lo (This Is Me... Then[?])
• Ja Rule (Pain Is Love[?])
• Kylie Minogue (Light Years[?])
• Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory)
• *NSYNC (Celebrity[?])
• Radiohead (Kid A)
• The Roots (Phrenology[?])
• Shakira (Laundry Service[?])
• The Strokes (Is This It?)
• System of a Down (Toxicity)
• Tool (Lateralus)
• The Vines (Highly Evolved)
• Weezer (The Green Album)

see also 2000s music groups, List of rock and roll albums in the 2000s