2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.
The world population on January 1, 2003, was estimated to be 6.272 billion people and increased to 6.353 billion people by January 1, 2004.[2] An estimated 134.0 million births and 52.5 million deaths took place in 2003.[2] The average global life expectancy was 67.1 years, an increase of 0.3 years from 2002.[2] The rate of child mortality was 6.85%, a decrease of 0.27pp from 2002.[3] 25.54% of people were living in extreme poverty, a decrease of 1.31pp from 2002[4]
There were approximately 10.6 million global refugees at the beginning of 2003, and the number was reduced to 9.7 million refugees by the end of the year.[5] Afghanistan was the largest source of refugees, with a total of 2.1 million at the end of the year.[5]
There were 29 armed conflicts affecting 22 countries in 2003. This was a net decrease from 31 conflicts in 2002.[6]: 625 The deadliest conflicts were in Iraq, Kashmir, Liberia, Nepal, and Sudan.[6]: 627
The Colombian conflict against two Marxist militant groups—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army—escalated in 2003.[7]: 101 The government negotiated an agreement for the right-wing militant group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia to disband as a means to deescalate the conflict.[7]: 102
The First Ivorian Civil War was halted in 2003 amid a ceasefire while France and the states of ECOWAS intervened. Peace talks fell apart on March 7 until the ceasefire was restored on May 3, only to be broken again on September 23. The war was left in a frozen state at the end of 2003 with rebels controlling parts of the country.[7]: 115–116 The Second Liberian Civil War against Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy escalated when the Movement for Democracy in Liberia split off as its own faction.[7]: 116 President Charles Taylor resigned on August 2, allowing a peace agreement to take place on August 18.[7]: 118