2008


2008 is designated as:
  • International Year of Languages
  • International Year of Planet Earth
  • International Year of the Potato
  • International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued through the entirety of 2008.

Population

The world population on January 1, 2008, was estimated to be 6.801 billion people and increased to 6.888 billion people by January 1, 2009. An estimated 141.8 million births and 54.0 million deaths took place in 2008. The average global life expectancy was 69.3 years, an increase of 0.3 years from 2007. The estimated number of global refugees decreased from 11.4 million to 10.5 million by the end of the year. The largest sources of refugees were Afghanistan with 2.8 million people and Iraq with 1.9 million people.

Conflicts

There were 37 conflicts in 2008 that resulted in at least 25 fatalities, five of which resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities: the Iraqi insurgency, the Taliban insurgency, conflict with the Pakistani Taliban, Eelam War IV in Sri Lanka, and the Somali Civil War. A border conflict broke out for two days between Djibouti and Eritrea, ending with Eritrean occupation of the disputed area, Ras Doumeira. This was the first conflict in four years where two sovereign states fought each other directly. The Russo-Georgian War occurred in August when Georgia engaged in warfare with the breakaway state South Ossetia following a series of skirmishes. Russia backed South Ossetia and sent 10,000 soldiers into the fight, progressing further into Georgia until a ceasefire was established. Two separatist rebel groups escalated conflict in India: Dima Halam Daogah sought a Dimasa state and the United National Liberation Front sought a Manipuri state. Ten armed militants, claimed by the Pakistani organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, captured several targets in Mumbai on November 26, and battles with Indian soldiers led to approximately 160 deaths.
Peace talks were held between Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army to end the LRA's insurgency, but LRA leader Joseph Kony refused to attend a final peace agreement and government operations against the LRA resumed in December. Peace talks were also held for the Central African Bush War and the Somali Civil War, but rebels were unable to reach final agreements in these conflicts. The National Forces of Liberation resumed its insurgency in Burundi when peace talks collapsed in January, but a ceasefire was established in December. Progress was made toward peace in the First Ivorian Civil War with preparations to integrate the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire into the Ivorian military.

Culture

The highest-grossing film globally in 2008 was The Dark Knight, followed by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda. The best-selling album globally in 2008 was Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends by Coldplay, followed by Black Ice by AC/DC and Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack. Most popular video games that were released in the year of 2008 were Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, Grand Theft Auto IV, ''and Fallout 3''.
The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, making them the first Olympic Games to take place in China.

Economy

The economy underwent a global financial crisis in 2008 following the American subprime mortgage crisis from the previous year, causing the worst recession since the Great Depression. The economy was affected by bank failures, stock market crashes, and credit freezes. A dramatic escalation in September prompted international efforts to restore consumer confidence and resolve credit freezes. Measures such as bailouts for financial institutions and liquidity injections were implemented throughout the year. Banking in Iceland collapsed in October.
Gross world product increased by approximately 2.5% in 2008. International trade grew by 4.3%, slowing from the 6.4% growth in 2007. Commodity prices continued their previous upward trajectory until half way into the year when they dropped sharply. The price of oil was especially affected with its 60% drop.
The Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus was held in November and December in Doha to continue talks on global economic reform.

Environment and weather

The year 2008 was the eighth hottest year on record, tied with 2001. The year began with a La Niña that continued from late 2007, with unusually cold temperatures occurring the Middle East, central Asia, and China. Australia had its warmest January on record, followed by a heat wave in South Australia later in March. The year had above average precipitation, with Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau experiencing their wettest month on record in June. A severe drought persisted in central South America from January until September. Approximately 87,500 people were killed by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan, China.
The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was more intense than usual due to La Ninã earlier in the year combined with above average sea surface temperatures. There were sixteen tropical storms, including eight hurricanes. The year's major hurricanes were Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Paloma, Hurricane Omar, and Hurricane Bertha. The 2008 Pacific typhoon season was less intense than usual with the fourth lowest accumulated cyclone energy index on record. There were twenty-six tropical cyclones, including twelve typhoons. The year's intense typhoons were Typhoon Jangmi, Typhoon Rammasun, Typhoon Nakri, Typhoon Sinlaku, and Typhoon Hagupit. The tropical cyclones caused severe floods and landslides in the Philippines and southern China. The season was the first since 1984 where no tropical cyclones made landfall in Japan.

Health

meant that there were nearly one billion undernourished people in the world. An outbreak of salmonella occurred in the United States after the importation of contaminated peppers. Baby formula in China was mixed with melamine as a cost-cutting measure, affecting thousands of infants. Two first-time trachea transplants occurred in 2008; one used a woman's own stem cells to prevent transplant rejection, and one using a trachea donated from a deceased human.

Politics and law

The global financial crisis dominated the political world in 2008, and a summit was held by the G20 in November.
Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in November. Dmitry Medvedev was elected president of Russia in March, but his predecessor Vladimir Putin retained power through the office of prime minister. The Russo-Georgian War negatively affected Russian relations with the Western world. During the conflict, it recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries from Georgia. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17; Serbia did not recognize Kosovo's independence, but it received support and recognition from many Western countries. The European Union initiated the EULEX mission to assist in a stable transition to independence.
Former Bosnian politician Radovan Karadžić was captured and put on trial for his involvement in the Bosnian genocide.

Events

January