1990 was a common year beginning on Monday in the Gregorian calendar. It is numbered 1990 in the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) systems, the 990th year of the second millennium, the 90th year of the 20th century, and the first year of the 1990s decade. For basic calendar classification and related details see common year and Monday conventions in the Gregorian calendar.
The year is remembered for significant geopolitical change as the Cold War era drew down. Landmark events included steps toward German reunification, independence movements in parts of the Soviet bloc, and the release of long-imprisoned political figures that signalled transitions in South Africa and elsewhere. A dramatic international crisis also began when Iraq invaded Kuwait, a move that reshaped Middle Eastern politics and led to a broad international response.
1990 saw notable advances in science and technology. The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed into orbit, opening a new chapter in observational astronomy and public engagement with space. In computing, foundational work on the World Wide Web was completed, and personal computing continued its expansion with major operating system releases that widened access to graphical user interfaces and software.
Popular culture and sports reflected both continuity and change. The 1990 FIFA World Cup attracted global attention, while film, television and music from the year contributed enduring hits and trends that bridged the late 1980s and early 1990s. The year also marked the early rise of musical and cultural movements that would become prominent in the decade that followed.
Economically and socially, 1990 was a transitional moment in many regions. Markets, institutions and social movements adjusted to post–Cold War realities, and the decade that began in 1990 brought rapid globalization, technological diffusion, and shifting patterns of international cooperation and conflict.
Because it sits at the start of a new decade, 1990 is often treated as a reference point for the changes that characterized the 1990s. It combined endings and beginnings: the winding down of some long-standing political orders and the emergence of new institutions, technologies and cultural currents that helped define the contemporary world.