21st century

==Society==
[[File:Shanghai Skyline, Dec2014.jpg|thumb|[[Shanghai]] has become a symbol of the recent economic boom of [[China]].]]

Advances in technology such as [[ultrasound]], prenatal genetic testing and [[genetic engineering]] are modifying the demographics{{clarify|date=March 2024}} and have the potential to change the genetic makeup of the human population. Because of [[sex-selective abortion]], fewer girls have been born in the 21st century (and since the early 1980s) compared to past centuries, mostly because of [[son preference]] in East and South Asia. In 2014, only 47 percent of Indian births were of girls.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/Sex-ratio-at-birth-on-the-decline/article16729844.ece|title=Sex ratio at birth on the decline|first=Samarth|last=Bansal|newspaper=The Hindu|date=30 November 2016|via=www.thehindu.com|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919043407/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/Sex-ratio-at-birth-on-the-decline/article16729844.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> This has led to an increase in [[bachelors]] in countries such as China and India. The first [[Lulu and Nana controversy|genetically modified children]] were born in November 2018 in [[China]], beginning a new biological era for the human species and raising great controversy.

[[Anxiety]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322877.php|title=Is anxiety increasing in the United States?|website=Medical News Today|date=5 September 2018|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=3 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203082223/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322877.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[depression (mood)|depression]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression|title=Depression|website=who.int|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=26 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226072232/https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression|url-status=live}}</ref> rates have risen in the [[United States]] and many other parts of the world. However, [[suicide]] rates have fallen in Europe and most of the rest of the world so far this century, declining 29% globally between 2000 and 2018, despite rising 18% in the [[United States]] in the same period. The decline in suicide has been most notable among Chinese and Indian women, the elderly, and middle-aged Russian men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/why-is-suicide-on-the-rise-in-the-us-but-falling-in-most-of-europe-98366|title=Why is suicide on the rise in the US – but falling in most of Europe?|first=Steven|last=Stack|website=The Conversation|date=28 June 2018 |access-date=25 March 2019|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033853/https://theconversation.com/why-is-suicide-on-the-rise-in-the-us-but-falling-in-most-of-europe-98366|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/30/why-the-global-suicide-rate-is-falling|title=Why the global suicide rate is falling|date=30 November 2018|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219235840/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/30/why-the-global-suicide-rate-is-falling|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Knowledge and information===
The entire [[Writing|written works]] of humanity, from the beginning of [[recorded history]] to 2003, in all known [[language]]s, are estimated to amount to five [[exabyte]]s of data.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/quote-of-the-day-google-ceo-compares-data-across-millennia/344989/|title=Quote of the Day: Google CEO Compares Data Across Millennia|first=Benjamin|last=Carlson|date=3 July 2010|website=The Atlantic|access-date=10 February 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919150658/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/quote-of-the-day-google-ceo-compares-data-across-millennia/344989/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://social.techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/|title=Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information As We Did Up To 2003|date=4 August 2010 |access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210233247/https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, with the beginning of [[social media]] and "[[user-generated content]]", the same amount of data is created every two days.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://i.imgur.com/gpXRWoq.png |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 February 2019 |archive-date=10 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210233245/https://i.imgur.com/gpXRWoq.png |url-status=live }}</ref> The growth of human knowledge and information continues at an [[Exponential growth|exponential rate]].{{explain|date=December 2023}}

[[Telecommunications]] in the early 21st century are much more advanced and universal than they were in the late 20th century. Only a few percent of the world's population were [[Internet]] users and [[cellular phone]] owners in the late 1990s; as of 2023, 64.4% of the world's population is online, and as of 2019, an estimated 67% own a cell phone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/|title=Number of mobile phone users worldwide 2015–2020|website=Statista|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=26 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226111553/https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2010s, [[artificial intelligence]], mainly in the form of [[deep learning]] and [[machine learning]], became more prevalent and is prominently used in [[Gmail]] and [[Google]]'s search engine, in banking, with the military and other areas. In 2020, 9% of the world's population still lacked access to electricity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Database |url=https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/results?p=Access_to_Electricity&i=Electricity_access_rate,_Total_(%) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508135440/https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/results?p=Access_to_Electricity&i=Electricity_access_rate,_Total_%28%25%29%252A |archive-date=8 May 2023 |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=Trackingsdg7.esmap.org}}</ref>

[[File:Triptychon Maha Kumbh Mela.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|India's [[Prayag Kumbh Mela]] is regarded as the world's largest [[religious festival]].]]

In 2001, [[Dennis Tito]] became the first [[space tourist]], beginning the era of [[commercial spaceflight]]. Entrepreneurs [[Elon Musk]] and [[Richard Branson]] are working towards commercial space exploration, colonization and tourism, while [[China]] and [[India]] have made substantial strides in their space programs. On 3 January 2019, China landed a robotic spacecraft on the [[far side of the Moon]], the first to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/china-plans-historic-landing-on-dark-side-of-the-moon|title=China Makes Historic Landing on 'Dark Side' of the Moon|first=Sarah|last=Pruitt|website=HISTORY|date=3 January 2019 |access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124065205/https://www.history.com/news/china-plans-historic-landing-on-dark-side-of-the-moon|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Culture and politics===
{{Further|International relations since 1989}}
War and violence have declined considerably compared to the 20th century, continuing the post-World War II trend called [[Long Peace]]. [[Malnutrition|Malnourishment]] and [[poverty]] are still widespread globally, but fewer people live in the most extreme forms of poverty. In 1990, approximately one-in-four people were malnourished, and nearly 36% of the world's population lived in [[extreme poverty]]; by 2015, these numbers had dropped to approximately one-in-eight and 10%, respectively.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The [[Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal]] drew international attention to the possible adverse effects of social media in influencing citizen's views, particularly regarding the [[2016 United States presidential election]].{{explain|date=September 2023}}

Concepts such as eco-friendly lifestyles, recycling, and upcycling are having a profound impact on daily lives. Sustainable fashion, architecture, and food culture are all important elements that will facilitate the development of an environmentally conscious culture well into the future.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

===Population and urbanization===
The [[world population]] was about 6.1 billion at the start of the 21st century and reached 8 billion by November 2022. It is [[Projections of population growth|estimated to reach]] nearly 8.6 billion by 2030,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/by-2030-world-will-have-8-6bn-people-1-5bn-of-them-in-india/articleshow/59279842.cms|title=By 2030, world will have 8.6bn people, 1.5bn of them in India|date=23 June 2017|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=3 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203115326/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/by-2030-world-will-have-8-6bn-people-1-5bn-of-them-in-india/articleshow/59279842.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> and 9.8 billion by 2050. According to the [[United Nations]] World Urbanization prospects, a 60% projection of the world's human population is to live in [[megacity|megacities]] and [[megalopolis]]es by 2030, 70% by 2050, and 90% by 2080. It is expected by 2040, the investing of more than 5 times the current global [[gross domestic product]] is expected to be in urban infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf |title=World Population Prospects |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002014/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Life expectancy]] has increased as [[child mortality]] continues to decline. A baby born in 2019, for example, will, on average (globally), live to 73 years—27 years longer than the global average of someone born in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2023 |title=GHE: Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy |url=https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-life-expectancy-and-healthy-life-expectancy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322174132/https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-life-expectancy-and-healthy-life-expectancy |archive-date=22 March 2023 |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref> Ten million [[Britons]] (16% of the [[United Kingdom]] population) will, on average, live to 100 or older.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-million-brits-alive-today-will-live-see-100th-birthday-150028500.html|title=10 million Brits alive today will live to see their 100th birthday|website=uk.news.yahoo.com|date=12 March 2018 |access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919072737/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-million-brits-alive-today-will-live-see-100th-birthday-150028500.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Climate change]] remains a serious concern; UN Chief [[António Guterres]], for instance, has described it as an "[[Global catastrophic risk|existential threat]]" to humanity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/05/1009782|title=Climate change: An 'existential threat' to humanity, UN chief warns global summit|date=15 May 2018|website=UN News|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223154410/https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/05/1009782|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, the [[Holocene extinction]] event, the sixth most significant extinction event in the Earth's history, continues with the widespread degradation of highly [[Biodiversity hotspot|biodiverse habitats]] as a by-product of human activity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |title=The misunderstood sixth mass extinction |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |date=8 June 2018 |volume=360 |issue=6393 |pages=1080–1081 |doi=10.1126/science.aau0191 |pmid=29880679 |bibcode=2018Sci...360.1080C |s2cid=46984172 |oclc=7673137938}}</ref>

[[File:Isolierte-Völker.png|thumb|A map of [[Uncontacted peoples|uncontacted tribes]], around the start of the 21st century]]

===Economics, education and retirement===
Economically and politically, the United States and Western Europe were dominant at the beginning of the century; by the [[2010s]], China became an [[emerging superpower|emerging global superpower]] and, by some measures, the world's [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|largest economy]]. In terms of [[purchasing power parity]], [[India's economy]] became more significant than [[Japan]]'s around 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-larger-than-japan-in-ppp-terms-says-wb-114043000075_1.html|title=India larger than Japan in PPP terms, says WB|first=B. S.|last=Reporter|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=30 April 2014|via=Business Standard|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025073751/https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-larger-than-japan-in-ppp-terms-says-wb-114043000075_1.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Bitcoin]] and other [[cryptocurrencies]] are decentralized currencies that are not controlled by any central bank. These currencies are increasing in popularity worldwide due to the expanding availability of the [[internet]] and are mainly used as a [[store of value]].

There is an ongoing impact of [[technological unemployment]] due to [[automation]] and [[Business process reengineering|computerization]]: the rate at which jobs are disappearing—due to machines replacing them—is expected to escalate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://danielmiessler.com/images/mfg1.jpg |title=US Real Manufacturing Output vs. Employment, 1947 to 2014 |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111459/https://danielmiessler.com/images/mfg1.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> Automation alters the number of jobs and the skills demands of industries. As of 2019, the production output of [[First World|first world nation]]s' manufacturing sectors was doubled when compared to 1984 output; but it is now produced with one-third fewer workers and at significantly reduced [[operating cost]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWLZgalWkAAUpYL.jpg&imgrefurl=https://twitter.com/jessphoenix2018/status/965290722067824645&docid=i0gYqb6m7ILAxM&tbnid=eHWWEy0Z6B0qYM:&vet=10ahUKEwiOlfiL--jgAhUFNKwKHR2GApUQMwh_KC4wLg..i&w=621&h=467&itg=1&bih=665&biw=1292&q=metropolitan+policy+program+automation&iact=mrc&uact=8|title=Google Image Result|website=google.com|access-date=10 February 2022|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308123239/https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FDWLZgalWkAAUpYL.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjessphoenix2018%2Fstatus%2F965290722067824645&docid=i0gYqb6m7ILAxM&tbnid=eHWWEy0Z6B0qYM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiOlfiL--jgAhUFNKwKHR2GApUQMwh_KC4wLg..i&w=621&h=467&itg=1&bih=665&biw=1292&q=metropolitan+policy+program+automation&iact=mrc&uact=8|url-status=live}}</ref> Half of all jobs with requirements lower than a bachelor's degree are currently in the process of being replaced with partial- or full-automation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://i1.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fig7-automation-education.jpg?w=768&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C9999px&ssl=1 |title=Figure 7 |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224205249/https://i1.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fig7-automation-education.jpg?w=768&crop=0,0px,100,9999px&ssl=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[World Economic Forum]] forecast that 65% of children entering [[primary school]] will end up in jobs or careers that currently do not yet exist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/31/the-future-of-work-wont-be-about-degrees-it-will-be-about-skills.html|title=The future of work won't be about degrees, it will be about skills |type=Opinion |author=Stephane Kasriel |date=31 October 2018|work=CNBC |access-date=7 November 2018|archive-date=13 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213061050/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/31/the-future-of-work-wont-be-about-degrees-it-will-be-about-skills.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A rise in the retirement age has been called for in view of an increase in [[life expectancy]] and has been put in place in many jurisdictions.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40057117| title=Call to raise retirement age to at least 70| work=BBC News| date=26 May 2017| last1=Johnston| first1=Chris| access-date=16 November 2019| archive-date=12 November 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020146/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40057117| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=Emily Jane Fox | url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/06/12/news/economy/retirement-age/index.htm | title=Retirement age must rise – OECD | access-date=16 November 2019 | archive-date=24 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024152330/https://money.cnn.com/2012/06/12/news/economy/retirement-age/index.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Linguistic diversity===
As of 2009, [[Ethnologue]] catalogued 6,909 living human languages.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/ "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060406012854/http://www.ethnologue.com/ |date=6 April 2006 }}. Retrieved 28 June 2007, {{ISBN|1-55671-159-X}}</ref> The exact number of known living languages will vary from 5,000 to 10,000, generally depending on the precision of one's definition of "language", and in particular, on how one classifies dialects.

Estimates vary depending on many factors, but the general consensus is that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages currently spoken. Between 50% and 90% of those will have become extinct by the year 2100.<ref name="Handbook2">{{cite book|last1=Austin|first1=Peter K|title=Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages|last2=Sallabank|first2=Julia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-521-88215-6|editor-last=Austin|editor-first=Peter K|chapter=Introduction|editor2-last=Sallabank|editor2-first=Julia}}</ref>

The [[List of languages by number of native speakers|top 20 languages]] spoken by more than 50 million speakers each, are spoken by 50% of the world's population. In contrast, many of the other languages are spoken by small communities, most of them with fewer than 10,000 speakers.<ref name="Handbook2" />