1999

1999 was an ordinary year of 365 days that began on a Friday according to the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar in the world. It was the 1999th year in the Common Era reckoning, the last year of the 1990s, and the last year of the 20th century and second millennium when counting from year 1.

The year is remembered for a major debate over the calendar transition to 2000 and a technical issue known as the Y2K problem. It also saw political and military events that affected Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The Y2K Problem

Many computer programs written decades earlier stored years using only two digits (for example, 99 instead of 1999). Experts warned that when the year reached 00, systems might interpret it as 1900, potentially causing computational errors. Governments and companies invested resources in updating their code. When January 1, 2000 arrived, the anticipated problems proved minor; debate continues over whether this was due to adequate preparation or whether the risks had been overstated.

Politics and Conflict

The year included the Kosovo War, in which NATO began air operations in March, ending in June with Yugoslav forces withdrawn from the region. Russia began a second war in Chechnya in late in the year. In December, Vladimir Putin became acting president following Boris Yeltsin's resignation.

Economy and Technology

On January 1, 1999, the euro was formally launched, initially used for accounting and financial markets; banknotes and coins were introduced in 2002. The year also marked the height of the internet company boom known as the dot-com bubble, during which technology stock valuations rose sharply.