Contemporary History refers to the period of history immediately before the present age. It is mainly used to refer the important events of the entire world which has their impact on the present. For example, in Europe, revolutions happened in 1989 is considered as the contemporary period. In Asia, the period after the end of World War II is defined as the contemporary period. The Cold War is considered as a major event of the contemporary history which had a major impact on European politics. In the contemporary era, most of the important and notable events, revolutions, technological advances, economical changes and achievements happened in many countries.

In the 20^th century, World War I and World War II, Russian Revolutions and the Civil Wars are the significant events in the contemporary history. After 1989, the Space Age leaded to the advanced space technology, space exploration and technological and cultural developments. In the 21^st century or the late modern world, changes and developments like the economical growth and economic globalization, advancements in telecommunication technologies, information technology development, internet and rise of terrorism have their significant part in contemporary history.

Growth and development of eastern countries, Israeli Palestinian conflicts, Recession 2007-2009,  terrorists attacks on the U.S. and several other countries ar some of  the most important events in the Information age, the modern contemporary history from 2000-2009. In this modern age, English language has grown and it is accepted as a global language. American culture is widespread around the world but the anti-western feelings are also found in Middle East countries.

Due to the growth and development of technology, positive or negative changes are found in the records of contemporary history. Socio-technological changes lead to economical growth of North America, Asia and the Middle East Countries. However, these changes have altered the lifestyle and culture of people and their daily lives. Developing countries face many problems like rapidly growing populations, challenges in protecting the environment, rising cost of fuel, living, food and supplies, etc. Due to rapid economical changes, 40% of the global wealth is owned by 1% of the rich people. Half of the world population has 1% of the global wealth, which shows the differences of wealth distribution in various levels. Threatening diseases like SARS, West Nile, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, etc., are found across the world and people are still affected by these dreadful diseases. Global Warming is another threat to the world because of environmental changes, increasing pollution and emission of carbon.

Though modern contemporary history has the records of problems faced by people, it has contributed more for technical advancements in the fields of medicine, information technology, telecommunication, robotics, biotechnology, material science, etc.