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Below is a timeline of events that have been instrumental in the growth of democracy around the world. Click on any date to view its relevant information. | Date | Major Development Events – the 20th and 21st Centuries | Global Poverty Levels |
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1910s [+] | | 1914-1918
World War I
1919
League of Nations established at the close of World War I | Note: Few official poverty statistics are available prior to 1960.
The Industrial Revolution in Western nations increases economic output and innovation, leading to some reductions in poverty.
Europe experiences economic stagnation and increased poverty following WWI.
| 1940s [+] | | 1939-1945
World War II
1944
The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (usually referred to as the Bretton Woods Conference) held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II; delegates agree to set up the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)*, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)**, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
*IBRD is one of five institutions that make up the World Bank Group; to reduce confusion, throughout the remainder of the timeline, IBRD activities will be attributed to its parent organization, the World Bank
**GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995
1945
World War II ends
United Nations (UN) Charter drafted in San Francisco, CA and UN comes into official existence
The World Bank and IMF begin their formal existence
1947
World Bank issues its first loan to France for post-war construction
IMF officially begins operations and the first drawing from the IMF is made by France
GATT signed
Marshall Plan for European recovery proposed by US Secretary of State George Marshall
1948
World Health Organization established by the United Nations
1949
World Bank expands technical assistance activities
| 1947
At the close of WWII, the Marshall Plan is adopted to help European nations recover from the war. | 1950s [+] | | 1957
European Economic Community (the predecessor of the European Union) is established
1958
Mao Zedong launches the “Great Leap Forward” in an effort to speed industrialization and bring development to China | | 1960s [+] | | 1960
International Development Association established by the World Bank to address the development needs of the poorest developing countries
1961
ACCION International founded as a traditional humanitarian aid organization
1967
Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) established
The Republic of Biafra declares independence from Nigeria; a three-year civil war ensues and more than one million people die in battle or from starvation. Médecins Sans Frontières was formed to provide medical attention to civilians; many experts point to this war as launching the aid industry
| 1960
In the United States, 22% are living below the poverty line | 1970s [+] | | 1970
First World Bank loan for family planning issued to Jamaica
1971
US announces it will no longer freely buy and sell gold to settle international transactions; this causes ‘par values’ and ‘convertibility,’ two main features of the Bretton Woods system, to cease to exist
1973
Famine devastates Ehtiopia, leading Emperor Haile Selassie to be deposed the following year
ACCION begins its microlending program
1976
Muhammad Yunus, head of the Rural Economics Program at the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh, launches an action research project to examine the possibility of providing banking services specifically targeted to rural poor
1978
“Four Modernizations” program initiated in China, moving the country’s economy toward capitalism, industrialization, and urbanization.
| 1970
In the United States, 13% are living below the poverty line | 1980s [+] | | 1980
First Structural Adjustment Loan issued by World Bank to Turkey
World Health Organization (WHO) announces the eradication of smallpox
1981
Scientists identify AIDS
1982
Oil prices fall; Mexico defaults on international loans, marking beginning of world debt crisis, and several other countries follow
1983
The Grameen Bank Project is transformed into an independent bank by an act of Bangladeshi government legislation, providing the poor in Bangladesh with greater access to banking services, and especially microcredit
1984
Famine strikes Ethiopia again, killing an estimated one million, and leading to worldwide efforts at fundraising for famine relief including the high profile Live Aid concert
1986
25,000 cases of AIDS diagnosed in the US
1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall; Cold War tensions begin to thaw
| 1981
42% below $1/day
70% below $2/day
1984
35% below $1/day
68% below $2/day
1987
30% below $1/day
63% below $2/day | 1990s [+] | | 1993
European Union established by the Treaty of Maastricht, leading to the creation of the Euro.
1994
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed, aimed at opening up trade among Canada, the US, and Mexico
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative approved, providing debt relief to poor countries with good policy performance by World Bank and endorsed by IMF
1995
World Trade Organization (WTO) established
1997
World Bank and WTO sign formal agreement of cooperation
Widespread Asian Financial Crisis
Kyoto Protocol is adopted with the aim of reducing greenhouse gases in order to prevent climate change; notably, the US is the only developed nation to not sign the treaty
1998
Uganda becomes first nation to receive debt relief under the HIPC initiative
1999
Euro adopted as the common currency for eleven European countries (though currency is not issued until 2002)
Large protests at WTO conference in Seattle
| 1990
30% below $1/day
63% below $2/day
1993
27% below $1/day
61% below $2/day
1996
24% below $1/day
58% below $2/day
1999
23% below $1/day
57% below $2/day | 2000-present [+] | | 2000
International AIDS Conference in South Africa
2001
IMF Executive Board reviews the conditionality of use of its resources
Argentine economic crisis after the breakdown of the country’s banking system
Terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC lead US to launch the Global War on Terror
2002
IMF adopts new conditionality guidelines aimed at promoting ‘national ownership of policy reforms and streamlining and focusing conditionality’
2003
Joint IMF-World Bank project to monitor the policies and actions needed for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals approved
2005
The International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee reach agreement on a G-8 proposal to provide 100% debt relief on all debt incurred by HIPCs to the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Fund (ADF); three months later, the IMF approves 100% debt relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative for 19 countries
2007
World food price crisis leads to political and economic instability and social unrest, especially in developing countries
According to estimates by WHO, 33.2 million people are living with HIV, 2.5 million became newly infected, and 2.1 million died of AIDS; two thirds of HIV infections are in Sub-Saharan Africa
2008
Effects of the subprime mortgage crisis reach other financial institutions in the US and begins to spread throughout world, and especially to Europe
| 2002
21% below $1/day
54% below $2/day
2005
16% below $1/day
48% below $2/day
Between 1981 and 2005, poverty rates have fallen by about 25%; however, the reduction in poverty in China (from 85% to 15.9%) accounts for a significant portion of this reduction; excluding China, poverty rates have fallen by about 10%
2008
Using a poverty line of $1.25/day, the World Bank estimates that 1.4 billion people live at or below the poverty line
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Annotated Timeline
