The 2000s was a decade that began on January 1, 2000 and ended on December 31, 2009. It was the first decade of both the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, both of which began on January 1, 2001.

Globalization, which had intensified in the post-Cold War 1990s, continued to influence the world in the 2000s. The growth of the Internet was one of the prime contributors to globalization during the decade, making it possible for people to interact with other people, express ideas, introduce others to different cultures and backgrounds, use goods and services, sell and buy online, research and learn about anything, along with experiencing the whole world without having to leave home.

The institutions, linkages and technologies that emerged or were redefined earlier would subsequently in this decade benefit many countries, in particular China and India. However, in other parts of the world such progress failed to address ongoing struggles with modernity, most notably characterized by the rise of al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups.

2000 (MM) was a leap year that started on a Saturday, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2000th year of the Common Era or the Anno Domini designation, and the last year of the 20th century and the 2nd millennium.

2000 was designated as:

The year 2000 was the first year of the 2000s decade. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, due to a tendencial way to group the years according to decimal values, as if year zero were counted. According to the Gregorian calendar this distinction falls to the year 2001, because the 1st century was retroactively said to start with year AD 1. Since the calendar has no year zero, its first millennium spans from years 1 to 1000, inclusively, and its second millennium from years 1001 to 2000. (See more at Millennium.)

The year 2000 was the subject of Y2K concerns: fears that computers would not shift from 1999 to 2000 correctly. However, by the end of 1999, many companies had already converted to new, or upgraded their existing software. Some even obtained Y2K certification. As a result of massive effort, much of it mis-directed, relatively few problems occurred.