19621990

1962–1990 denotes a historical interval spanning nearly three decades of the 20th century. It covers the height of the Cold War and the political, social, and economic changes that accompanied it, as well as rapid advances in science and technology and shifts in global power.

Geopolitically, the period featured ongoing rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, interspersed with moments of rapprochement and crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 highlighted the immediacy of nuclear tensions, while arms-control efforts produced agreements in the 1960s–1980s. Conflicts and wars, including the Vietnam War (U.S. involvement ending in 1973–75), affected regional dynamics. Decolonization accelerated across Africa, Asia, and Oceania, leading to the emergence of many new nation-states. The late 1980s brought profound political change in Eastern Europe, with liberalization and reform movements culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and accelerating the dissolution of communist regimes in the region.

Economically, the era included two major oil shocks in 1973 and 1979, contributing to inflation and restructuring of energy policies. The 1980s saw deregulation and market-oriented reforms in several countries, alongside continuing development of international trade and finance.

Technology and culture transformed daily life. The space program achieved milestones such as human spaceflight in the early 1960s and lunar landing in 1969; packet switching and early networking developments in the late 1960s foreshadowed the Internet. Personal computers and consumer electronics expanded during the 1970s–1980s, reshaping work and communication.

The period ends around 1990, as reform movements reshaped the political map and set the stage for a post-Cold War era, with many former socialist states transitioning to new governing systems.