Theworld population on January 1, 2003, was estimated to be 6.272 billion people and increased to 6.353 billion people by January 1, 2004.[2] An estimated 134.0 million births and 52.5 million deaths took place in 2003.[2] The average globallife expectancy was 67.1 years, an increase of 0.3 years from 2002.[2] The rate ofchild mortality was 6.85%, a decrease of 0.27pp from 2002.[3] 25.54% of people were living inextreme poverty, a decrease of 1.31pp from 2002.[4]
There were approximately 10.6 million global refugees at the beginning of 2003, and the number was reduced to 9.7 million refugees by the end of the year.[5] Afghanistan was the largest source of refugees, with a total of 2.1 million at the end of the year.[5]
There were 29 armed conflicts affecting 22 countries in 2003. This was a net decrease from 31 conflicts in 2002.[6]: 625 The deadliest conflicts were in Iraq,Kashmir, Liberia, Nepal, and Sudan.[6]: 627
The Indonesianinsurgency in Aceh escalated when a demilitarization agreement failed and the government renewed its offensive in May.[7]: 126 TheMoro conflict in the Philippines deescalated when the Philippine government agreed to peace talks with theMoro Islamic Liberation Front in July, though conflicts with other groups continued.[7]: 129
Only two inter-state conflicts took place in 2003: theIraq War and theKashmir conflict. The Kashmir conflict saw progress toward resolution in 2003 as negotiations began and a ceasefire took effect on November 23.[7]: 95 A coalition of countries led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia led aninvasion of Iraq beginning on March 20, warning that Iraq had beenoperating a program to developweapons of mass destruction. The subsequent Iraq War became the most publicized conflict in 2003.[6]: 627–628 The coalition quickly defeated theIraqi Armed Forces, and American presidentGeorge W. Bush gavea speech on May 1 declaring victory in the war.[8]: 2 The subsequentIraqi insurgency proved more deadly than the invasion by the end of the year. By this time, doubts were raised about whether Iraq had been developing the weapons of which it was accused.[8]: 3
TheSecond Intifada continued into 2003 as conflict between Israel and Palestine killed 400 people in suicide bombings by Palestinians and military strikes by theIsrael Defense Forces.[7]: 104 Israel constructed theWest Bank barrier, which it described as a measure to prevent suicide bombings and Palestine described as a measure to impose segregation.[9]: 76
Museums and libraries were looted during riots inBaghdad following the invasion of Iraq.[8]: 2 About 10,000 items were taken from theIraq Museum, though many were returned by the end of the year, and several items were taken from theMosul Museum. TheIraq National Library and Archive was burned down, destroying 500,000 books and 12 million Ottoman documents. The lost treasure ofTillya Tepe was found in Saddam Hussein's position.[8]: 524
Music sales in 2003 amounted to about 2.7 billion units, a decline of 6.5% from 2002.DVD music video thrived in 2003 at the expense of singles andcassettes.[17] CD sales overall saw a large decline in favor of internet downloads.[10]: 162 Globally, the best-selling albums of the year wereCome Away with Me byNorah Jones,Get Rich or Die Tryin' by50 Cent, andMeteora byLinkin Park. No non-English albums were among the global top fifty albums sold in 2003.[18]
When decentralizedpeer-to-peer file sharing replaced the centralized platformNapster as a means topirate music, theRecording Industry Association of America began directing legal action against individual users who uploaded pirated songs rather than the platforms themselves, filing a total of 382 lawsuits.[8]: 483 TheiTunes Store launched on April 28 and was immediately successful, selling over 10 million songs over the next four months.[9]: 87 This was touted as a possible solution to music piracy.[8]: 483
The popularity of theHarry Potter franchise meant that the publication ofHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the largest literary event in 2003, with the book itself becoming one of the longest children's books ever published at 768 pages.[8]: 529
ComposerSergei Prokofiev was honored in many performances throughout the world for the 50th anniversary of his death.[8]: 507 Ballet dancerRudolf Nureyev was similarly honored in Europe for the 10th anniversary of his death.[8]: 510 The opera industry was negatively affected by a decline in tourism and other economic factors in Europe and North America, and many productions were canceled.[8]: 505
Through the internet,flash mobs developed as a social trend in 2003.[10]: 168
The global economy was weak in the first half of 2003 as uncertainty arose from Middle Eastern conflict, the spread ofSARS, and major corporate scandals in 2002.[8]: 9 It improved in the second half of the year as it recovered from theearly 2000s recession, brought about by lowinterest rates andexpansionary fiscal policy. The United States led the recovery, while China and Japan also made significant contributions. The economic situation improved in Latin America and Africa, while Western Europe saw slower recovery.[20] TheEurozone had a GDP low growth of 0.5%.[8]: 12 Argentina emerged fromits economic crisis after four years, reaching the year's highest GDP in the Western Hemisphere with 7% growth.[8]: 11
Thegross world product increased by 2.5% in 2003, andinternational trade increased by 4.75%. The prices of non-fuel commodities, such as metal, minerals, and agricultural materials, increased during the year.[20] The price of gold rose following conflict in the Middle East.[8]: 1 The Italian food companyParmalat and the Dutch supermarket companyAhold were the subjects of major corporate scandals in 2003.[8]: 12 These were among a series of corporate corruption scandals over the previous years that led the United States and a coalition of European countries to reform their policies on the matter.[8]: 15
2003 tied with2002 as the second hottest year on record, behind only1998. The year began during anEl Niño period that continued until April.A major heatwave occurred in Europe during the summer, causing approximately 70,000 deaths, 14,000 in France alone. Severe cold weather affected Asia, North America, and Peru. 2003 saw low precipitation, causing droughts in Australia, the United States, and Zimbabwe. The previous year's droughts in Asia were alleviated by heavy precipitation in the region.[21]
Several reports were published in 2003 forecasting severe negative effects ofglobal warming. TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that approximately one million species risked extinction if no preventative measures were implemented, and theWorld Wide Fund for Nature determined that the fresh water access of 7 billion people would be at risk by 2050 because of global warming and other causes.[8]: 485 Reports also warned about the potential destruction of theAmazon rainforest and provided evidence that widespread destruction of coral was taking place. The 3000-year-old ArcticWard Hunt Ice Shelf split in September, draining the lake that it had held in place, though global warming was not the primary factor in its destruction. The oil companyBP was the subject of scrutiny when one of its well-heads exploded in Alaska.[8]: 487 The sinking ofSoviet submarine K-159 caused worries about leakage of its spent nuclear fuel, but no such leakage was found.[9]: 83
The2003 Atlantic hurricane season was above average in activity, including sixteennamed storms of which seven were hurricanes. The most severe hurricanes wereHurricane Fabian,Hurricane Isabel, andHurricane Kate.Tropical Storm Ana was the first recorded North Atlantic tropical storm to occur in April, and 2003 was the first year since 1887 to have two tropical storms occur in December.[23] The2003 Pacific typhoon season was slightly more intense than average, though the overall number of tropical storms was below average with 23 total storms. The most destructive typhoons wereTyphoon Dujuan, which made landfall inGuangdong, China, on September 2, andTyphoon Maemi, which made landfall in South Korea on September 12.[24]
Construction began onMOSE, a set of sea gates inVenice designed to prevent the city's perpetual flooding.[9]: 78 China began use of theThree Gorges Dam along theYangtze.[8]: 488 The overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq ended his project to construct a dam that would have flooded the ruins ofAssur.[8]: 524
TheWorld Health Organization set "shaping the future" as its health focus for 2003, seeking to improve health systems andprimary health care for the poor.[25] It adopted its first international agreement, theWHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.[8]: 493 Global food production increased from 2002 but fell short of the amount produced in 2001. Much of southern Africa was dependent onfood aid early in the year following drought-related crop failures in 2002.[10]: 146
SARS became a major health concern by April following the spread ofSARS-CoV-1.[26] Fearing a pandemic, theWorld Health Organization issued a recommendation to avoid non-essential travel toGuangdong andHong Kong.[9]: 137 The spread ended with fewer than 800 deaths.[26] Cases ofmonkeypox occurred in the Western Hemisphere for the first time when 28 prairie dogs infected with themonkeypox virus were imported to Wisconsin.[9]: 140 Avian influenza spread to poultry in Europe, and ahuman case was diagnosed in Hong Kong, leading to the patient's death. Two instances ofbovine spongiform encephalopathy was diagnosed in cows in Canada and the United States.[10]: 147
Several treatments for cancer were tested or approved in 2003, includingAvastin,Erbitux,Genasense, andVelcade, with mixed results. Developments inHIV/AIDS prevention included the unsuccessfulAIDSVAX vaccine byVaxGen and the beginning of trials forenfuvirtide.[26] TheRTS,S malaria vaccine began trials for children in Mozambique after it was shown to be safe for adults in several nations, while human trials began in the United States for an Ebola vaccine.[8]: 480
A conference held by theWorld Trade Organization in September resulted in a dispute between nations that cast doubts on whether the agreements of theDoha Development Round were sustainable.[8]: 14 Developing nations alleged that their input was being excluded by Western powers.[10]: 147 The use of farming subsidies, particularly by Europe, Japan, and the United States, was challenged here because of their effect on developing nations. This dispute led to the creation of the G-21 (later theG20 developing nations).[8]: 485
Liberian presidentCharles Taylor fled the country on August 1 and was replaced byGyude Bryant, a compromise between the different factions of the Liberian Civil War, on October 14.[9]: 80
North Korea became the first nation to withdraw from theNuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and on February 6 it announced the restoration ofits nuclear weapons program. Several nations engaged in tenuous negotiations with North Korea throughout the year, but no agreements were made.[9]: 81 Iran announced its own nuclear program in violation of its agreement with theInternational Atomic Energy Agency, disclosing this as an attempt to avoid sanctions.[9]: 83
A series of protests took place inHong Kong following the implementation of laws by China that limited the rights of the Hongkongers.[9]: 82
Russian businessmanMikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested on October 27 in what was seen internationally as political persecution by the government to exercise control overRussian oligarchs.[9]: 82
The leader of Libya,Muammar Gaddafi, admitted fault in the 1988 downing ofPan Am Flight 103 and offered reparations to the victims' family members, prompting the United States to petition for the removal of international sanctions against Libya.[9]: 82 He also agreed to end any plans for a nuclear weapons program in Libya as scrutiny of nuclear programs around the world increased.[8]: 6
Serbian prime ministerZoran Đinđić was assassinated on March 12, prompting a crackdown on a criminal organization that supported former dictatorSlobodan Milošević, whom Đinđić had ousted.[9]: 82
The secularShinui party gained influence in Israel following a public debate on the role of Judaism in Israeli politics.[8]: 473
The American-led invasion of Iraq dominated discourse around international law and sparked debate about when such actions are justified. Military intervention was supported by countries such as Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and much of Eastern Europe, while its strongest opponents included China, France, Germany, and Russia. The United States argued that it was legally authorized underUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990), as well asResolution 687 (1991) andResolution 1441 (2002). This was challenged on the basis that Resolution 678 could no longer be assumed to apply and that the Security Council had not affirmed Iraq was in violation of its order.[8]: 491 The Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein went into hiding as the invasion took place, but he was discovered and arrested six months later.[8]: 4
TheInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) accepted two new cases in 2003:a border dispute case between Malaysia and Singapore anda dispute over the United States' application of the death penalty against Mexican nationals. It declined to impose any provisional measures in an ongoing case regarding France's claim of universal criminal jurisdiction. TheUnited Nations General Assembly requested anadvisory opinion from the ICJ regarding the construction of theWest Bank barrier by Israel. A case filed by Libya against the United Kingdom and the United States regarding the 1988 downing of Pan Am Flight 103 was settled outside of court.[8]: 491 The ICJ ruled in theOil Platforms case that American force was not justified inthe 1987 attacks on Iranian oil platforms but that it had not broken the1955 treaty as Iran alleged. It rejected appeals of a 1992 border dispute between El Salvador and Honduras and a 1996 decision that the ICJ had jurisdiction in Yugoslavia at the time.[8]: 492
TheInternational Criminal Court was inaugurated in March, and the UN Security Council granted the United States a one-year extension of its exemption for American UN Peacekeepers.[8]: 494
The UN Security Council determined that two separate prosecutors should be appointed for the criminal tribunalsfor Rwanda andfor Yugoslavia instead of keeping them under a single prosecutor. The tribunal for Rwanda confirmed the conviction ofGeorges Rutaganda, and it convictedElizaphan Ntakirutimana as the first of several clerics it was prosecuting. It also sentenced several journalists to prison for their role in theRwandan genocide, marking the first conviction ofcrimes against humanity for journalists since theNuremberg trials.[8]: 494 The tribunal for Yugoslavia sentencedBiljana Plavšić to 11 years in prison andMilomir Stakić to 20 years for crimes against humanity, whileStanislav Galić was convicted of terrorism for attacks on civilians in theSiege of Sarajevo. Terms for the creation of aKhmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia were agreed on in June.[8]: 495
TheAnglican Communion was embroiled in debate about its stance on homosexuality when the liberal archbishopRowan Williams was madeArchbishop of Canterbury on February 27 and expressed interest in reforming the policy against it.Jeffrey John was nominated asBishop of Reading in May, but his relationship with a man caused controversy and prompted him to decline. A similar debate took place regarding divorce when the divorced canonGene Robinson was madeBishop of New Hampshire on November 2.[8]: 470
Many saw the American-led invasion of Iraq was seen as an attack on Islam.[8]: 471 Organized efforts were made by political and religious leaders in the Muslim world to differentiate typical Islam from extremism. Religious strife occurred in Saudi Arabia whereWahhabi Muslims supported stricter application of Islamic law—some engaging in civil unrest and suicide bombings—while other denominations spoke in favor of tolerance for minority religions and women.[8]: 472 French society and the French government, especially within theNational Front, took a hostile approach toward Muslims in 2003.A proposal was made to ban religious attire in schools, while at the same time the country's first Muslim-run school was opened inLille.[8]: 473
Controversy erupted in the Hindu world after the reprint ofGanesa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings by Paul Courtright and the publication ofShivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India byJames Laine. Both of these books were seen as offensive by some Hindu groups, causing the writers and publishers to receive threats and harassment.[8]: 474
Judaism was marked with disputes between different sects, both in Israel and the United Kingdom. Israel debated whetherHaredi Jews should be allowed to retain exemptions to certain laws.[8]: 473 The BritishMasorti RabbiLouis Jacobs was not permitted in anOrthodox ceremony for his granddaughter's marriage on the orders of thebeth din in London, reigniting the Jacobs Affair of the 1960s.[8]: 474
TheHerto Man fossils, first discovered in Ethiopia in 1997, were dated to approximately 160,000 years ago and proposed as a human subspeciesHomo sapiens idaltu. The findings provided additional evidence for the theory that humansoriginated in Africa.[10]: 149 A set of skulls, first discovered in Mexico in 1959, were dated to approximately 13,000 years ago.[10]: 151
The first report for the 2000Census of Marine Life was published in October, announcing that it had catalogued 15,304 species, including 500 newly discovered during the program.[8]: 480 A plan to breed theIberian lynx was made in April to protect it from extinction.[8]: 489 An alternate theory for thePermian–Triassic extinction event was proposed in a study published on November 21, suggesting that it was caused by an asteroid impact instead of the more commonly accepted theory of volcanic activity.[8]: 480 Study ofMicroraptor fossils provided support for the hypothesis that dinosaurs evolved from gliding animals.[9]: 142 The use ofgenetically modified crops was a controversial issue, particularly in the European Union where a moratorium ongenetically modified food remained in effect. Many other countries expanded their production of genetically modified crops.[10]: 147
Human cloning was a subject of international scrutiny in 2003, triggered in part by the disputed claims of theRaëlist companyClonaid that they had produced human clones. Several countries supported international bans on human cloning.[8]: 478 The cloned sheepDolly died on February 21 after living only six years, raising doubts about the viability of cloning. A study of mousestem cells announced the creation of artificial eggs, while another announced that adult cells could be converted into stem cells by combining them with rabbit eggs. A study on chimpanzee DNA indicated that chimpanzees share 99.4 percent of their DNA with humans, instead of the previous estimate of 95 percent.[8]: 479
The AmericanSpace ShuttleColumbia wasdestroyed in the atmosphere as it returned to Earth on February 1, killing all seven on board.[9]: 130 NASA lost contact with thePioneer 10 probe (launched in 1972) and ended the mission of theGalileo probe (launched in 1989) by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere. TheVoyager 1 probe became the first man-made object to reach thetermination shock zone at the edge of the Solar System.[8]: 477 China became the third country to launch a human into space with theShenzhou 5 mission on October 15, in which taikonautYang Liwei was in space for 21 hours.[8]: 476
NASA and theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) scheduled several launches toward Mars for 2003 as the planet's orbit brought it its closest to Earth in approximately 60,000 years. NASA launched two Mars rovers, theSpirit on June 10 and theOpportunity on July 7.[8]: 477 The ESA launched theMars Express orbiter with theBeagle 2 lander on June 2, but contact was lost with theBeagle 2 when it landed on December 25.[8]: 476 The ESA'sRosetta mission to the comet46P/Wirtanen was scheduled for January 12 but set back a year for a safety evaluation of theAriane 5 rocket following an incident the previous month.[8]: 476 NASA launched theSpace Infrared Telescope Facility (later renamed the Spitzer Space Telescope) on August 2, and the ESA launched theSMART-1 satellite on September 27 to study the Moon.[8]: 477
Intel andAMD released64-bit processors in 2003, popularizing what was previously a niche hardware amid the more common32-bit systems.[8]: 483 Broadband internet andcable modems gained popularity at the expense ofdial-up andDSL modems.Wi-Fi hotspots became more common, and they were increasingly found in businesses for customers' use.[10]: 165
TheSQL Slammer worm was among several major malware programs to spread during the year through vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems. Its effects included the disabling of all 13,000Bank of America ATMs in the United States and days of internet outage for customers ofKT Corporation in South Korea.[8]: 484 TheWelchia worm was created to download a patch that countered the maliciousBlaster worm but caused its own inadvertent system issues. TheSobig virus, transmitted through email, became the world's fastest spreading virus.[10]: 163
Camera phones became widespread in 2003 as millions were sold.[9]: 88 The originalVolkswagen Beetle, the most widely produced car ever designed, ended production with a final run of 3,000 cars for collectors.[9]: 92 TheConcorde supersonic airliner ended services on October 24 after operating for 27 years.[9]: 93 The United Kingdom installed the first rotating underwater turbine in June to generate tidal power.[8]: 488
January 22 – The last signal from NASA'sPioneer 10 spacecraft is received, some 12.2 billion kilometers (7.6 billion mi) fromEarth.[30]
January 29 – Riots break out inPhnom Penh, Cambodia targeting Thai nationals after false reports that a Thai actress made comments about a temple. Thailand severs diplomatic relations with Cambodia in response.[31]
February 4 – TheFederal Republic of Yugoslavia is renamed to "Serbia and Montenegro" (after its two constituent states) after its leaders reconstitute the country into a loose state-union betweenMontenegro andSerbia, marking an end to the 73-year-long use of the name "Yugoslavia" by a sovereign state.[33][34][35]
February 5 – U.S. Secretary of StateColin Powell speaks to the United Nations presenting the case for a military invasion ofIraq. It will later be discovered that theBush administration misled him when preparing his testimony.[36]
February 15–16 –Antwerp diamond heist: An Italian gang steals loose diamonds, gold and jewellery valued at more than $100 million from a Belgian vault, one of the largest robberies in history.[38][39]
U.S. President George W. Bush declares an end to the invasion of Iraq in theMission Accomplished speech. Hostilities would continue for several years during a period ofIraqi insurgency.[63]
June 15 –Operation Desert Scorpion: U.S. forces in Iraq facilitate searches forBa'athist forces, distribution of humanitarian aid, and engineering programs to repair damaged infrastructure.[80]
June 21 – Declaration of Thessaloniki: The European Union encourages accession of states of the westernBalkans.[81]
September 15 –ELN rebels kidnap eight foreign tourists atCiudad Perdida, Colombia, being freed 100 days later following negotiations with the Colombian government.[113]
^abcWorld Population Prospects 2022 (Report). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2022.Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. RetrievedOctober 6, 2023.
^Hasell, Joe; Roser, Max; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Arrigada, Pablo (October 17, 2022)."Poverty".Our World in Data.Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. RetrievedOctober 6, 2023.
^Otterman, Sharon (February 2, 2005)."IRAQ: Iraq's Governing Council".Council on Foreign Relations.Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. RetrievedDecember 13, 2022.
