2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition.
Population
The world population on January 1, 2004, was estimated to be 6.462 billion people and increased to 6.545 billion people by January 1, 2005. An estimated 136.6 million births and 53.2 million deaths took place in 2004. The average global life expectancy was 67.7 years, an increase of 0.3 years from 2003. The estimated number of global refugees decreased from 9.59 million to 9.24 million by the end of the year. Afghanistan was the largest source of refugees, with approximately 2.1 million people.Conflicts
There were 32 armed conflicts in 2004 that resulted in at least 25 fatalities, all of which involved violent non-state actors. Seven of these resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities: the Colombian conflict, the Iraqi insurgency, the Kashmir insurgency, the Nepalese Civil War, the Second Chechen War in Russia, the Second Sudanese Civil War, the Sudanese War in Darfur, and the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in Uganda.The Iraqi insurgency emerged in Iraq in 2004 and carried out attacks against the US-backed caretaker government. It was initially confined to the Sunni Triangle, but it expanded to other areas throughout the year with two suicide bombings in Iraqi Kurdistan on February 1 and a conflict with the Shia Mahdi Army in April. More intense fighting took place in the city of Fallujah toward the end of the year. Conflicts with al-Qaeda continued in 2004, primarily in Pakistan along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. A group affiliated with al-Qaeda carried out a series of train bombings in Madrid, killing approximately 200 people in March. An Islamic militant uprising also took place in northern Nigeria.
Conflict between Israel and Palestine remained heightened in 2004, including the targeted killings of Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi by Israel and the bombing of Israeli tourists by Palestinian militants in October. Although the Second Congo War had ended, insurgencies continued within the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Ituri and in Kivu. Globally, two major rebel groups acted for the first time in 2004: the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti successfully brought about the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, while the Islamic Jihad Union was defeated in its attempt to overthrow the government of Uzbekistan.
The War in Darfur escalated significantly in Sudan with debate over whether its mass killings constituted a genocide. The Burundian Civil War was complicated as factionalism divided the CNDD-FDD and tentative peace agreements with the government were opposed by the National Forces of Liberation. The Nepalese Civil War escalated as the Communist Party of Nepal abducted over one thousand people to train as fighters and the Nepalese government established civilian militias. The frozen conflict between Georgia and the breakaway state of South Ossetia escalated in July and August until a ceasefire was signed on August 18. The Second Chechen War continued in 2004 with a bombing that killed Russian-backed Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, and the capture of a school in Beslan, Russia, by Chechen militants that resulted in over 300 fatalities in September.
Two major peace agreements were made in 2004: one between Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, and one between Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. A ceasefire was established in Uganda after the Ugandan military made significant gains over the Lord's Resistance Army. A 2003 ceasefire held in the Kashmir conflict, bringing about the conflict's first full year without military action in roughly a decade, although an insurgency continued in the region. Disarmament of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia began in November during the Colombian conflict, but fighting with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia continued and the Colombian government launched its Plan Patriota mobilization program.
Culture
Art and architecture
Art speculation resurged in 2004 as the economy recovered from a recession, with major sales including Garçon à la pipe by Pablo Picasso for approximately $100 million and La Nona Ora by Maurizio Cattelan for approximately $3 million. The Scream and Madonna were stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo in 2004, while efforts continued throughout the year to recover and preserve works from the Iraq Museum in response to the looting that took place amid the invasion of Iraq.The biggest art exhibitions of 2004 were Treasures of a Sacred Mountain at the Tokyo National Museum and El Greco at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The world's largest architectural design competition was held to design the National September 11 Memorial & Museum; there were over 5,000 entries, from which the design "Reflecting Absence" by Michael Arad was selected. The Pritzker Architecture Prize was won by a woman, Zaha Hadid, for the first time.
Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein opened a museum in Vienna to display the royal family's art collection, the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection was put on display in Berlin, and the Smithsonian Institution opened its National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The German Duchess Anna Amalia Library was destroyed in a fire that consumed approximately 30,000 books. Reconstruction finished on the exterior of the Frauenkirche church in Dresden, which had been destroyed in World War II.
Buildings that finished construction or opened in 2004 included the Gherkin and the Scottish Parliament Building in the United Kingdom, the Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in Italy, the in Canada, and the Forum Building in Spain. The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport opened in China along with terminals in the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada and Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. The Rio–Antirrio Bridge was completed in Greece, as was the Millau Viaduct in France. Among new rail stations were the Blue Line in Thailand, the Hiawatha Light Rail and the Las Vegas Monorail in the United States, the Yellow Line in India, and the Shenzhen Metro in China. The Södra länken motorway in Sweden and the final stage of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia were also completed.
Media
The highest-grossing film globally in 2004 was Shrek 2, followed by Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Spider-Man 2. The highest-grossing non-English film was The Passion of the Christ, the fifth highest-grossing film of the year. Critically acclaimed films from 2004 include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill: Volume 2, and Million Dollar Baby Documentaries had a successful year in 2004 with the release of Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore and Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock.Music sales in 2004 amounted to about 2.75 billion physical units, stalling the decline of units in previous years. CD albums made up 86% of sales, but DVD and digital music continued an upward trajectory. The best-selling album globally in 2004 was Confessions by Usher, followed by Feels like Home by Norah Jones and Encore by Eminem. The best-selling non-English album was the Japanese album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 by Hikaru Utada, the 19th best-selling of the year. Courts in Canada and the United States issued rulings that affirmed the legality of peer-to-peer file sharing despite its frequent use for copyright infringement. Apple Inc. with its iPod and iTunes service was the predominant source of legally downloaded music.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was the best selling fiction book of 2004. Plays that premiered in 2004 included Stuff Happens by David Hare and The History Boys by Alan Bennett.
Critically acclaimed video games from 2004 include Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, and Halo 2.
Sports
The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in their birthplace of Athens. The United States had the most gold medals with 35, followed by China's 32 and Russia's 27. Irina Korzhanenko of Russia had her gold medal revoked after failing a drug test.The BALCO scandal occurred in the United States after an investigation determined that the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative was distributing performance-enhancing substances to athletes.
In association football, Greece won an upset victory over Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004, while FC Porto defeated AS Monaco FC in the 2004 UEFA Champions League final.
In Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox ended its 86-year losing streak by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. Japanese player Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners broke the 84-year record of 257 hits in one season set by George Sisler.
Fijian golfer Vijay Singh unseated Tiger Woods as the top PGA Tour player in September, winning nine tournaments in 2004.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2004 Stanley Cup Final in the National Hockey League, and the 2004–05 NHL season was canceled following an industry lockout.
Maria Sharapova defeated champion player Serena Williams in the Women's Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first Russian to win a Wimbledon tournament. Roger Federer won three of the four major tennis tournaments in men's tennis.
Steve Fossett and his crew beat the record for fastest circumnavigation by sailing, making the trip in 58 days, while Francis Joyon broke the solo record with 73 days. Pete Cabrinha surfed on a wave in January, breaking the record for the tallest wave ever surfed.
Vitali Klitschko became the world heavyweight champion in boxing following the retirement of Lennox Lewis.
Vijay Singh became the world's highest-earning golfer, winning $10 million in 2004.
Michael Schumacher won the 2004 Formula One World Championship, marking his seventh win.
Ronnie O'Sullivan won the 2004 World Snooker Championship in what was his second victory.
Best Mate became the fourth horse to win three Cheltenham Gold Cups.