Theworld population on January 1, 2006, was estimated to be 6.629 billion people and increased to 6.714 billion people by January 1, 2007.[2] An estimated 138.5 million births and 53.3 million deaths took place in 2006.[2] The average globallife expectancy was 68.6 years, an increase of 0.5 years from 2005.[2]
The estimated number of global refugees increased from 8.65 million to 9.88 million by the end of the year, marking an end to several years of declining rates.[3] The number of refugees from Iraq increased by about 1.2 million, and the global number also increased by 464,000 after a change to how the United Nations counted refugees that resided in the United States.[3] Afghanistan remained the largest source of refugees with 2.1 million people.[4]
There were 32 conflicts in 2006 that resulted in at least 25 fatalities, all of which were intrastate conflicts fought byviolent non-state actors.[5] Five resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities: theIraqi insurgency,Eelam War IV in Sri Lanka, theChadian Civil War, and the SudaneseWar in Darfur.[6] Peace agreements were made with at least one faction in conflicts in Angola, Burundi, Chad, Nepal, and Sudan.[7]
Thegross world product increased by 3.8% in 2006. The largest growth took place intransition economies (7.2%) anddeveloping countries (6.5%).[21]International trade grew by over 10%, improving on the 7.3% growth in 2005.[22] Unemployment rates lowered in developed countries, while transition economies and developing countries saw only minimal reduction in unemployment.[23]Inflation occurred in many parts of the world but was mostly limited tooil prices, which rose to an all-time high before sharply declining.[24]
April 4 – TheFaddoul Brothers, kidnapped on February 23, 2006, inCaracas, Venezuela, are found dead, causing outrage and mass protests against insecurity in the country.[42][43][44]
April 20 – Iran announces a deal with Russia, involving a jointuranium enrichment firm on Russian soil;[48] nine days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to ade facto termination of the deal.
May 27 – The 6.4 MwYogyakarta earthquake shakes centralJava in Indonesia with anMSK intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.[50][51]
June 3 –Montenegro declares its independence fromSerbia and Montenegro after a May 21referendum and becomes asovereign state. Two days later, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro officially disbands afterSerbia declares its independence as well, ending an 88-year union between the two countries[52] and leaving Serbia as the successor country to the union.[53][54]
June 14 - The2006 Kismet Train Collision occurs in California. At 5:51 AM, twoBNSF Railway freight trains collided head-on at the Kismet Siding in Kismet, California near Madera, California. The southbound mixed manifest train (BNSF #4059) disregarded a red signal at East Kismet instead of stopping and crashed into the northbound grain train (BNSF #4479). TheFederal Railroad Administration (FRA) investigation revealed that the southbound train's conductor had traces of cocaine in his system, which likely impaired his judgement and vision. The crash was also caught on camera after railroads particularly BNSF, started installing cameras onboard locomotives to capture all sorts of events from the crew's point of view.
July 12 – Israeli troopsinvade Lebanon in response toHezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel two days later.[63]
November 1 -Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko: Litvinenko, former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service and critic of the Putin administration, is poisoned with Polonium-210. He dies of acute radiation syndrome on 23 November, causing widespread accusations that the Russian government was behind the poisoning.
Felipe Calderón sends the Mexican military to combat the drug cartels and put down the violence in the state of Michoacán, initiating theMexican drug war.[87]
Analog terrestrial television is switched off permanently in the Netherlands.
^"What is the Islamic hajj?".CBC News. January 12, 2006.Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. RetrievedJuly 6, 2009.It's the same place where 362 people died in a stampede on Jan. 12, 2006
^Offshore Marine Protected Area Project, Offshore Marine Protected Area Project (2011)."Final Summary Report 2011"(PDF).South African National Biodiversity Institute.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2022.
^"Art Market Watch". Artnet. November 3, 2006.Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. RetrievedNovember 8, 2006.
World Population Prospects 2024 (Report). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2024. Archived fromthe original on July 11, 2022. RetrievedAugust 22, 2025.
