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    Highlights of the ’90s

    Tadashi

    Written by Tadashi

    Modified & Updated: 23 Sep 2023

    Jessica Corbett

    Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

    Expert Verified Editorial Guidelines
    Back to the 90's

    The 1990s made up the last decade of the 20th century. This naturally made it a historical transition, to the modern age of our 21st century. Learn more about how the world changed at that time with this list of the highlights of the ’90s.

    Quick Facts
    Essential Facts
    Interesting Facts
    1. 01The ’90s marked the last decade of the second millennium of the Common Era (CE) calendar.
    2. 02According to the United Nations (UN), the world’s population grew by 1.6 billion people, or 30%, during the 1990s.
    3. 03Worldwide economic growth varied between 1.5% from 1990 to 1994 and 2.5% from 1995 to 1999.
    4. 04The ’90s set a world record for a decade’s worth of damage from natural disasters, at $608 billion.
    5. 05The USA, in particular, saw the worst flooding in its history since the 19th century.
    1. 01The Unification of Yemen finally took place in 1990.
    2. 02The World Wide Web opened for public use in 1991.
    3. 03Japan formally apologized for forcing Korean women into prostitution during WWII in 1992.
    4. 04The UN designated the year 1993 as the International Year for Indigenous People.
    5. 05Russia and the USA agreed in the 1994 Kremlin Accords to stop preprogramming nuclear missiles at each other.
    6. 06The Internet became completely privatized in 1995.
    7. 07France conducted its last nuclear weapons test in 1996.
    8. 08US President Bill Clinton banned federal funding for cloning research and development in 1997.
    9. 09Europe later joined the ban on cloning research and development in 1998.
    10. 10A worldwide ban against the use of landmines began in 1999.
    1. 01Multiculturalism became a global phenomenon in the ’90s.
    2. 02The ’90s saw personal computer ownership in the USA alone rise from 15% to 35%.
    3. 03Vehicle designs in the ’90s adopted a rounded and streamlined appearance.
    4. 04World leaders began to take a serious interest in the environment in the ’90s.
    5. 05The World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from the list of recognized diseases and disorders in the ’90s.
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