2009


2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Johannes Kepler. It was also declared as the International Year of Natural Fibres by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the International Year of Reconciliation and the Year of the Gorilla.

Population

The world population on January 1, 2009, was estimated to be 6.888 billion people and increased to 6.977 billion people by January 1, 2010. An estimated 143.0 million births and 54.1 million deaths took place in 2009. The average global life expectancy was 69.7 years, an increase of 0.4 years from 2008. The estimated number of global refugees decreased from 10.5 million to 10.4 million by the end of the year. The largest sources of refugees were Afghanistan with 2.9 million people and Iraq with 1.8 million people.

Conflicts

There were 36 conflicts in 2009 that resulted in at least 25 fatalities, six of which resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities: the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, the Iraqi insurgency, the insurgency by the Pakistani Taliban, the conflict against the FDLR in Rwanda, Eelam War IV in Sri Lanka, and the Somali Civil War. All conflicts in 2009 were intrastate conflicts that involved violent non-state actors.
Several new conflicts began against rebel groups in 2009. The CPJP reignited conflict in the Central African Bush War, a faction of the NDFB broke a 2004 ceasefire with India in the Bodoland region, and a conflict broke out between Myanmar and the MNDAA when the government forced the MNDAA out of the Kokang. Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria, which was paused when its leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed.
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo resumed conflict against the FDLR when they launched Operation Umoja Wetu in January. The DRC and a United Nations mission launched Operation Kimia II against the FDLR in March after the group regained its strength. Conflict also resumed in Angola against the Forças Armadas de Cabinda, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula formed in Yemen to expand al-Qaeda's insurgency in the country. Bombings continued during the Iraqi insurgency, including a series of attacks in Baghdad that killed over 100 people in December. The Maersk Alabama was hijacked by Somali pirates in April, prompting a rescue operation by the United States Navy.
The Ihussi Accord ended conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the CNDP within the broader Kivu conflict. This was the only peace agreement reached in 2009. Eelam War IV, the final stage in the Sri Lankan civil war, ended in May when the Sri Lankan government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. It remained the deadliest conflict of the year.

Culture

The highest-grossing film globally in 2009 was Avatar, followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The best-selling album globally in 2009 was I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle, followed by The E.N.D. by the Black Eyed Peas and This Is It by Michael Jackson.

Economy

The global economy began a slow recovery from its economic recession in late 2009 following a severe economic crisis the previous year. Gross world product shrank by 2.2% in 2009, which marked its first contraction since World War II. Unemployment increased and inflation decreased throughout the world.

Environment and weather

The year 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth hottest year on record. It began in a La Niña period which ran until April, and was followed by El Niño from June through the end of the year. In January, a heat wave in southern Australia caused record-breaking temperatures while extreme cold occurred in northern and eastern Europe. A cold wave took place in Canada and the midwestern United States in July.
Central Europe faced severe floods following heavy rain in June, while major floods occurred in Turkey in September in Italy and India in October. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Italy killed approximately 300 people in April, and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Indonesia killed approximately 1,100 people in September. An earthquake in the Pacific caused a major tsunami that struck American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga.
The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season had nine named storms, including three hurricanes: Hurricane Bill, Hurricane Fred, and Hurricane Ida. This was the smallest number of named storms since the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season. The 2009 Pacific typhoon season was slightly below average in intensity overall, but it was the most destructive season for the Philippines in decades. The season hadh 25 named storms, including 14 typhoons. The most intense were Typhoon Nida, Typhoon Melor, Typhoon Choi-wan, Typhoon Lupit, and Typhoon Parma.

Health

caused by the H1N1 virus was the primary public health concern of 2009.

Politics and law

The 2009 G20 summit took place in London and was met with major protests.
American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were arrested by North Korea in March after being accused of crossing the China–North Korea border, and they were released in August.

Events

January