2020s

From top left, clockwise: Colourised transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virions with visible coronae, the virus that causes COVID-19, which in 2020 became a pandemic that has so far dominated the decade; A Russian BMP-3 near Mariupol destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, part of the greater Russo-Ukrainian War; In addition to many private and public spaceflight advancements, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Taliban fighters in Kabul on a captured Humvee following the 2021 fall of Kabul at the end of the War in Afghanistan.

The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties" shortened to "the '20s" and referred to as the twenties) is the current decade, which began on January 1, 2020, and will end on December 31, 2029.

The 2020s began with the COVID-19 pandemic — the first reports of the virus were published on December 31, 2019, though the first cases are said to have appeared nearly a month earlier — which caused a global economic recession as well as continuing financial inflation concerns and a global supply chain crisis. Multiple international demonstrations occurred in the early 2020s, including a continuation of those in Hong Kong that started in the late 2010s against extradition legislation, protests against certain local, state and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, others around the world against racism and police brutality, more in India against agriculture and farming acts, and, most recently, ones in Sri Lanka, Iran, China, and Russia against various forms of governmental jurisdiction and authoritarianism.

The private space race also greatly accelerated in the early 2020s, as did military conflicts such as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Myanmar Civil War, the Tigray War, the conflict between Gaza and Israel, the Fall of Kabul (which marked the end of the 20-year War in Afghanistan), and the Russian invasion of Ukraine (the largest conventional military offensive in Europe since World War II, having resulted in an immense refugee crisis).

With many extreme weather events worsening in the early 2020s, several world leaders have called it the "decisive decade" for climate action as ecological crises continue to escalate. 5G networks also launched around the globe at the start of the decade, and became prevalent in smartphones.

Politics and conflicts

Montage of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, part of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Main article: 2020s in political history

See also: List of sovereign states in the 2020s

Major conflicts

Main article: List of wars: 2003–present

The prominent wars of the decade include:

International wars

Name	Start date	End date	Description
Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis	1948	Ongoing	The conflict between Jewish and Arab communities in Israel and the West Bank has been ongoing since 1948. After Israel took control of the West Bank, it began making settlements there, which led to heightened clashes to this day.
Kurdish-Turkish conflict	27 November 1978	Ongoing	Numerous Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (the PKK) have fought for an independent Kurdistan incorporating parts of Turkey. In 2016, Turkey occupied parts of Northern Syria and in 2019, invaded Kurdish-held areas of Northern Syria. In 2020, Turkey launched an insurgency in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Second Nagorno-Karabakh war 2021–2023 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis	February 1988 27 September 2020 12 May 2021	Ongoing 10 November 2020 Ongoing	The region of Karabakh has been disputed over the Republic of Artsakh, which is supported by the Armenian government. A ceasefire was held in 1994. In July 2020, a series of border skirmishes left at least 15 dead. From 27 September until 10 November 2020, a second war broke out in the region.
War on terror War in Afghanistan Iraq conflict	11 September 2001 7 October 2001 20 March 2003	Ongoing 30 August 2021 Ongoing	Motivated by the September 11 attacks, the United States and other governments started a large scale effort to eliminate terrorism. With support from NATO, the United States invaded Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and overthrew the government, however remained in the country to stabilise the situation. Two years later, on the pretext that the government of Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, the United States and a coalition of partners invaded Iraq and overthrew Hussein's regime, after which the U.S. occupied the country, officially leaving in 2011. However, insurgencies remained active in both countries, long after the invasions.
Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Russian invasion	20 February 2014 24 February 2022	Ongoing Ongoing	Hostilities between the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine have been ongoing since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. In 2021 and early 2022, tensions escalated between the two countries due to a build up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. Russia launched a full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Military intervention against ISIL	13 June 2014	Ongoing	In late-2013, a terrorist organisation called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began making rapid advances and territorial gains in Iraq and Syria. It captured Mosul in June and made Raqqa its capital. Various international coalitions were formed to help fight the militants. By December 2017, ISIL had lost much of its former territory.
Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen	26 March 2015	Ongoing	During the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries part of a coalition invaded parts of Yemen in order to depose the Houthi-controlled government.
Turkish occupation of northern Syria	24 August 2016	Ongoing	During the Syrian Civil War, Turkey invaded parts of northern Syria in order to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Syrian Democratic Forces, and the PKK.

Civil wars

Name	Start date	End date	Description
Internal conflict in Myanmar Myanmar civil war	2 April 1948 7 September 2021	Ongoing Ongoing	Myanmar's long-running insurgencies escalated significantly into a major civil war in 2021 following the 2021 military coup and the subsequent brutal crackdown on the anti-coup protests.
War in Darfur	26 February 2003	Ongoing	A peace agreement was signed on 31 August 2020 between the Sudanese authorities and several rebel factions to end armed hostilities.
Mexican drug war	11 December 2006	Ongoing	Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking in the country, Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared a war on drugs in December 2006. Since the start of the war, the death toll from drug violence had sharply increased. Arrests of key cartel leaders led to increasing violence as cartels fought for control of trafficking routes into the United States.
War in Somalia	31 January 2009	Ongoing	In 2009, Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, began waging an insurgency against the newly formed Transitional Federal Government. In 2011, the federal government captured Mogadishu and subsequently retook several towns across the country. Since then, the government has attempted to clean out the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds with help from AMISOM soldiers.
Mali War	16 January 2012	Ongoing	In January 2012, a rebellion by Tuaregs in Northern Mali began. After Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup d'état, Tuaregs captured Northern Mali, and declared it to be the independent state of Azawad. However, shortly afterward, various Islamist groups took over Northern Mali from the Tuaregs and imposed sharia law on the region.
South Sudanese Civil War	15 December 2013	22 February 2020	On 22 February 2020, rivals Kiir and Machar struck a unity deal and formed a coalition government, after an estimated 400,000 deaths and more than 4 million people displaced by the war.
Second Libyan Civil War	16 May 2014	23 October 2020	Following the factional violence that engulfed Libya after the fall of Muammar al-Gaddafi, a second civil war broke out among rival factions seeking control of the territory and oil of Libya. The conflict at the beginning was mostly between the House of Representatives (HoR) government that was controversially elected in 2014, also known as the "Tobruk government"; and the rival General National Congress (GNC) government, also called the "National Salvation Government", based in the capital Tripoli, established after Operation Odyssey Dawn and the failed military coup.
Yemeni Civil War	19 March 2015	Ongoing	Preceded by a decade-long Houthi insurgency, the Yemeni Civil War began between two factions: the then-incumbent Yemeni government, led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and the Houthi militia, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the Yemeni government.
Philippine drug war	30 June 2016	Ongoing	Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking in the country, the Philippines has been engaged in a drug war since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated on 30 June 2016. It had caused more than 5,000 deaths and over 150,000 arrests by the beginning of the decade.
Iraqi insurgency	9 December 2017	Ongoing	A part of the larger Iraqi conflict that has been waged since 2003, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been engaged in an insurgency against the Iraqi government and CJTF-OIR since the loss of territorial control in the Iraqi Civil War in 2017.
Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present) Tigray War	2 April 2018 3 November 2020	Ongoing 3 November 2022	After years of increased tensions between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments, a full-scale war broke out in November 2020, that has killed an estimated 300,000-500,000 people as of March 2022. On November 2, both the Ethiopian government and TPLF formally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and systematic, verifiable disarmament though Tigrayan authorities allege that Ethiopia continued to launch attacks after the peace deal was signed

Revolutions and major protests

Main article: List of protests in the 21st century

Successful revolutions and otherwise major protests of the decade include, but are not limited to:

Event	Date	Country	Events	Ref.
Indonesia omnibus law protests	13 January 2020 – November 2020		Mass popular protests and riots against the deliberation and passage of the controversial Omnibus Law on Job Creation, which was passed on 5 October 2020. The wider policies of President Joko Widodo were also protested against, and resulted in the formation of the new Labour Party.
2020–2021 Belarusian protests	24 January 2020 – 25 March 2021		Mass popular protests and riots against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office.
George Floyd protests	26 May 2020 –present		Protests and riots due to the murder of George Floyd spread throughout the United States with international protests in support. The stated goal was to end systemic racism and police brutality.
2020–2021 Thai protests	July 2020 – November 2021		Mass popular protests and riots against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the dissolution of the Future Forward Party, changes to the constitution in 2017, and the country's political landscape. Resulted in the detention of leading figures.
2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest	9 August 2020 – 11 December 2021		Protests and riots against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020.
Third Kyrgyz Revolution	5 – 15 October 2020		On 5 October, protests began in Kyrgyzstan in response to the annulled parliamentary election, which protesters felt were unfair with allegations of vote-rigging. A day later, the parliamentary elections were annulled. 6 days later, on 12 October, president Sooronbay Jeenbekov announced a state of emergency. On 15 October, Jeenbekov finally resigned, making way for Sadyr Japarov, who was nominated by parliament on 14 October to be acting prime minister, as also acting president. Following the protests, Japarov was elected president on 10 January 2021, on the same day a referendum was held on the Kyrgyz government system, in which the Kyrgyz voted for a reintroduction of the presidential system. The new constitution, passed by the Supreme Council was approved by voters in another referendum on 11 April 2021. Finally, on 28 November 2021, new parliamentary elections took place.
2021 Brazilian protests	15 January – December 2021		President Bolsonaro's government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil culminated in mass popular protests and riots, with protests occurring in both support and opposition to the government and resulted in a failed impeachment attempt of Bolsonaro.
2021–23 Myanmar protests (Spring Revolution)	2 February 2021 – present		Protests triggered after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, during the ongoing internal conflict in Myanmar, and the Myanmar civil war.
2021–23 Iranian protests and people's revolt 2022 Iranian food protests Mahsa Amini protests	15 July 2021 – present 6 May 2022 – present 16 September 2022 – present		In 2021, protests broke out over a water shortage, electricity blackouts, and crackdowns on the Iranian Democracy Movement. The protests escalated in 2022 in response to a government price hikes on food and the death of Mahsa Amini, who was in police custody for not wearing a hijab.
2022 Kazakh unrest	2 – 11 January 2022		Protests erupt in Kazakhstan on 2 January 2022 after a sudden sharp increase in liquefied gas prices following the lifting of a government-enforced price cap on 1 January.
Canada convoy protest	22 January – 23 February 2022		A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy.
Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 anti-war protests in Russia	24 February 2022 – present		A series of protests and anti-war demonstrations held in Russia and worldwide against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia.
2022 Sri Lankan protests	15 March – 14 November 2022		Since 2019, Sri Lanka has been facing its worst economic crisis since its independence. The ongoing economic crisis culminated in mass popular protests and riots against the incumbent government and the Rajapaksa family, which eventually forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign in July. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe succeeded Rajapaksa as the President amidst the protests.
2022–23 Brazilian election protests 2023 Brazilian Congress attack	31 October 2022 – present 8 January 2023		The 2022 Brazilian election protests began shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian general election's second round on October 30, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president. Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, the outgoing incumbent president, started blocking roads and highways in the country. At least 23 Brazilian states, plus the Federal District, recorded roadblocks as of 1 November, adding up to at least 267 roadblocks according to data from Federal Highway Police (PRF). Dozens of Bolsonaro supporters storm the Three Powers Plaza in the capital Brasilia, cause enormous damage. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not there, nor was Jair Bolsonaro or members of Congress.
2022 COVID-19 protests in China	15 November 2022 – present		A series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China on 15 November 2022. The protests began in response to measures taken by the Chinese government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, including implementing a zero-COVID policy. Discontentment towards the policy has grown since the beginning of the pandemic, which confined many people to their homes without work, leaving them unable to purchase daily necessities and subjecting them to harsh restrictions. Protests escalated on 24 November 2022 following a fire in an apartment building in Ürümqi which killed 10 people, with protesters blaming China's policies for the deaths.
2022–2023 Peruvian protests	December 2022 – present		Protests erupted against the government of Dina Boluarte and the Congress of Peru called by supporters of the ousted president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, organized by social organizations and indigenous peoples who felt they experienced political disenfranchisement, specifically on the politically left-wing to far left.

Protesters in Minneapolis where George Floyd was murdered and the unrest began on 26 May 2020.

2021 Myanmar coup d'état culminated an ongoing protests, thousands of protesters participating in an anti-junta rally in Yangon in February 2021

Sri Lankans protesting in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 13 April 2022.

Truckers protesting against the result of the 2022 Brazilian presidential elections in the BR-381 in Timóteo, Minas Gerais

Terrorist attacks

Main article: List of terrorist incidents § 1970–present

Note: To be included, entries must be notable (have a stand-alone article) and described by a consensus of reliable sources as "terrorism". They also must have 100 or more fatalities reported.

The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include, but are not limited to:

Event	Date	Country	Deaths	Injuries	Ref.
Koshebe massacre	28 November 2020	Nigeria	110	6
January 2021 Baghdad bombings	21 January 2021	Iraq	34	110
2021 Kabul school bombing	8 May 2021	Afghanistan	90	240
2021 Kabul airport attack	26 August 2021	Afghanistan	183	200+
2022 Peshawar mosque attack	4 March 2022	Pakistan	64+	196+
October 2022 Mogadishu bombings	29 October 2022	Somalia	121+	300+

Political trends

Further information: 2020s in political history

Electoral trends

Having suffered decline in the years after the Great Recession, the centre-left politics and the 1990s political model (like progressivism, liberalism, social democracy, and third way policies) experienced a resurgence across Europe and the Anglosphere in the early 2020s, with New Statesman suggesting various causes, including natural shifts in the electoral cycle and conservatives' unpopularity among university graduates and voters under the age of 40.

Deaths

Sitting leaders that died in office:

In 2020: Sheik Sabah al-Sabah, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and Pierre Nkurunziza.

In 2021: Idriss Déby, John Magufuli, and Jovenel Moïse.

In 2022: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Elizabeth II

Former world leaders who died:

In 2020: Hosni Mubarak, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, John Turner, Daniel arap Moi, Pranab Mukherjee, Amadou Toumani Touré, Jerry Rawlings, Mamadou Tandja, Tabaré Vázquez, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Pierre Buyoya, John Cremona, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Kuniwo Nakamura, Litokwa Tomeing, Moussa Traoré, Pascal Lissouba, Branko Kostić, Lee Teng-hui, Benjamin Mkapa, Miloš Jakeš, Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero, Abdul Halim Khaddam, Joachim Yhombi-Opango, Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo, Mike Moore, and Janez Stanovnik.

In 2021: Gustavo Noboa, Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Didier Ratsiraka, Bonfoh Abass, Mamnoon Hussain, Arturo Armando Molina, Hissène Habré, Jorge Sampaio, Abdelkader Bensalah, Kenneth Kaunda, Anerood Jugnauth, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Enrique Bolaños, Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, Benigno Aquino III, Carlos Menem, F. W. de Klerk, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, Norodom Ranariddh, Kinza Clodumar, and Karolos Papoulias.

In 2022: Toshiki Kaifu, Ernest Shonekan, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Christos Sartzetakis, Amos Sawyer, Rupiah Banda, Karl Offmann, Ayaz Mutallibov, Dušan Čkrebić, Mwai Kibaki, Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislav Shushkevich, Romeo Morri, Bujar Nishani, Evaristo Carvalho, Jacob Nena, Shinzo Abe, José Eduardo dos Santos, Luis Echeverría, Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Fidel V. Ramos, Mikhail Gorbachev, Balakh Sher Mazari, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Jiang Zemin, Adolfas Šleževičius, Edgar Savisaar and Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2023: Abdelsalam Majali, Constantine II of Greece and Álvaro Colom.

Prominent political events

Coups

Event	Date	Country	Ref.
2020 Malian coup d'état	18 August 2020	Mali
2021 Battle of Bangui and coup d'état attempt	13 January 2021	Central African Republic
Myanmar coup d'état	1 February 2021	Myanmar
Armenian coup d'état attempt	25 February 2021	Armenia
Nigerien coup d'état attempt	31 March 2021	Niger
2021 Malian coup d'état	24 May 2021	Mali
2021 Tunisian self-coup	25 July 2021	Tunisia
Guinean coup d'état	5 September 2021	Guinea
Sudanese coup d'état	25 October 2021	Sudan
January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état	23 January 2022	Burkina Faso
Guinea-Bissau coup d'état attempt	1 February 2022	Guinea-Bissau
September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état	30 September 2022	Burkina Faso
Peruvian self-coup attempt	7 December 2022	Peru

Africa

Further information: Category:2020s in Africa, 2020 in West Africa, 2020 in North Africa, 2020 in Middle Africa, 2020 in East Africa, and 2020 in Southern Africa

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Western Saharan clashes (2020–present)		8 November 2020 – ongoing	Following protests in the border town of Guerguerat in the disputed Western Sahara region., the Moroccan armed forces captured the town to ensure traffic could resume through the area. Since then, fighting and bombardments across the Moroccan Berm have taken place, with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic declaring war against Morocco. It is the largest escalation in the conflict since the end of the Western Sahara War in 1991.
2021–2022 Somali political crisis		8 February 2021 – 10 January 2022	President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed stayed in power past the end of his term and postponed elections scheduled for 2021. Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble then called for the president to immediately step down. The president later dismissed Roble for alleged corruption. Protests were reported across the country in favor and opposed to the president. A deal to hold elections in May 2022 was reached in January which resulted in the incumbent president losing his bid for reelection.

Americas

Further information: Category:2020s in North America and Category:2020s in South America

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
First impeachment of Donald Trump		24 September 2019 – 5 February 2020	Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 6, of the U.S. Constitution, President Donald Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on 18 December 2019 by the United States House of Representatives. The United States Senate trial began on 16 January 2020 and ended on 5 February 2020, concluding with an acquittal on both charges.
2020 Salvadoran political crisis		9 February 2020	During a political crisis, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sent forty soldiers of the Salvadoran Army into the Legislative Assembly building in an effort to coerce politicians to approve a loan request of $109 million from the United States for Bukele's security plan for the country. The event has been condemned by foreign governments, the political opposition, and human rights organizations and is considered the first major political crisis in the country since the conclusion of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992 and has been referred to as a coup attempt.
2020 United States presidential election and subsequent events		3 November 2020 – 13 February 2021	The 59th United States presidential election was held on 3 November 2020. Democrat and former Vice-president Joe Biden defeated Republican and then-incumbent President Donald Trump, with the Electoral College formally declaring Biden the winner on 14 December 2020. Trump refused to concede, and filed lawsuits challenging the results in several states, though most of the legal challenges were either dismissed or dropped, with judges citing lack of evidence to suggest voter fraud occurred. Trump had also unsuccessfully attempted to undo the election results by forcing government officials to stop Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia from certifying Biden as the winner, and urging his supporters to "walk" to the United States capitol to demand Trump be declared the winner of the election. This was one of the reasons for the decision of a group of his supporters to gather in Washington, D.C on 6 January 2021 and break into the Capitol building during a Joint session of Congress. The January 6 United States Capitol attack disrupted Congress while certifying the election, forcing both chambers to undergo lockdown lasting for four hours. On the same day, Trump coerced then-incumbent Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results to which Pence refused. During the attack, Trump tweeted directly to his supporters falsely claiming Congress was attempting to assist in stealing the election. Twitter responded by suspending Trump's account permanently following Trump's tweet. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat all also suspended Trump from using their platforms worrying his posts may incite additional violence to the Capitol attacks. In relation to this, Trump was impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives and became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. Meanwhile, Joe Biden was sworn in as the United States President on 20 January 2021. The Senate impeachment trial ended on 13 February 2021, one month after its start, resulting in Trump being found not guilty of inciting the attack on the Capitol.
8th Congress of the Communist Party		16 – 19 April 2021	At the 8th Congress of the Communist Party, Raúl Castro officially resigned as the First Secretary, the most powerful position in Cuba. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is officially named First Secretary of the Communist Party following the resignation of Raúl Castro. He is the first person not of the Castro family to hold the top position since the 1959 Cuban revolution.
2021 Canadian federal election		20 September 2021	Incumbent prime minister Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party, is re-elected in Canada's federal election, continuing as a minority government.
Barbados's transition to a republic		30 November 2021	Barbados became the newest republic in the world on 30 November 2021, its 55th Independence Day, when the already elected, previous Governor-General of Barbados, Sandra Mason, was sworn into office as the first president of the Caribbean country. This ended Queen Elizabeth II's 55-year tenure as monarch of an independent Barbados.
2022 Colombian presidential election		19 June 2022	Former 19th of April Movement guerrilla fighter and incumbent Senator Gustavo Petro defeats businessman and former mayor of Bucaramanga, Rodolfo Hernández Suárez in the second round of the presidential election and becomes the first left-wing President in Colombian history.
2022 Brazilian general election		3–30 October 2022	Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeats the incumbent president of Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of the presidential election, he becomes the first elected to three terms and the oldest president in Brazilian history.

On January 6, 2021 the U.S. Capitol attack occurred two weeks before Joe Biden was sworn into office. The event resulted in the Second impeachment of Donald Trump and a group of televised public hearings.

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president on January 20, 2021, he became the oldest president in the U.S. history. The following year, Biden's former rival Donald Trump launched his 2024 campaign, after he lost the 2020 election.

Asia

Further information: Category:2020s in Asia

Event	Country	Date	Description	Reference
2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis		5 May 2019	The Persian Gulf region saw tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran escalate in mid-2019. The crisis saw oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz sabotaged and seized, drone shootdowns, and efforts by the U.S. and United Kingdom to pursue military patrols to protect shipping in the gulf, known as the International Maritime Security Construct. On 31 December 2019 tensions reached a breaking point as Iranian-backed Shiite militia stormed into the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, leading to the targeted killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike on 3 January 2020.
2020–2021 China–India skirmishes		5 May 2020 – 20 January 2021	Since 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops have engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs, and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Second Nagorno-Karabakh war		27 September 2020 – 10 November 2020	Starting on 27 September fierce clashes erupted along the line of contact between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Joint Artsakh and Armenian forces. Both sides neglected ceasefire demands from France, Russia and the US and continued fighting with claims from both sides that they are prepared to fight a long war to grapple control over the long contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. On 9 November a Russian-brokered peace treaty was signed by both sides.
2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes and Post-ceasefire incidents		28 April – 1 May 2021	A 3-day border conflict with clashes occurred in late April 2021 between the two Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The reason why the fighting broke out is disputed, but it is due either to an old water dispute or to local people's dissatisfaction with the installation of surveillance cameras near the border. After 3 days of intense clashes that left 55 people dead and more than 40,000 displaced civilians, the two countries agreed on a ceasefire. After the ceasefire, however, there were further armed incidents that led to further deaths and injuries up to June 2022.
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis		6 – 21 May 2021	Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem lead to eleven days of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
2021 Taliban offensive		1 May 2021 – 15 August 2021	Beginning on 1 May 2021, the Taliban and allied militant groups made a final offensive against the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its allies, coinciding with the withdrawal of most United States and allied troops from Afghanistan. It resulted in the de facto takeover of the country and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ending the twenty-year-long War in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021.
2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis		5 November 2021 – 28 October 2022	The parliamentary election in October 2021 resulted in deadlock as members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq were unable to form a stable government or elect a new president. Ended in the election of Abdul Latif Rashid as president and Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as prime minister.
2022 Pakistani political crises Constitutional crisis in Punjab, Pakistan 2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis		3 – 10 April 2022	Resulted in a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, making him the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to be removed from office by a vote of no confidence.

Europe

Further information: Category:2020s in Europe

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Brexit		31 January 2020	The United Kingdom and Gibraltar formally withdrew from the European Union at 11PM (GMT).
Eighth NATO enlargement		27 March 2020	North Macedonia subsequently signed the instrument of accession and became a member state of NATO.
(Prelude) 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine		March 2021 – February 2022 24 February 2022 – ongoing	Russia assembled troops along its border with Ukraine throughout late 2021 to early 2022. It escalated into a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II		6 February 2022	Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, which marked the 70th anniversary of her accession.
July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis		5–7 July 2022	Several officials resigned from their positions in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's second ministry, culminating in Johnson announcing his resignation on 7 July and a leadership election called to decide the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Death of Mikhail Gorbachev		30 August 2022	A Russian and Soviet politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev died at the age of 91.
Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II and Accession of Charles III		8 September 2022	Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, the longest-living and longest-reigning British monarch, ruling from 6 February 1952 to 8 September 2022, died of natural causes at the age of 96. Her son, Charles acceded to the throne as King Charles III immediately after serving as heir apparent for 70 years, the longest in British history
2022 Italian general election		25 September 2022	The right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy won an absolute majority in both houses. On 22 October, Meloni was appointed Prime Minister, becoming the first woman to hold the office.
Golden Jubilee of Margrethe II		2022	Queen Margrethe II celebrated her Golden Jubilee, which marked the 50th anniversary of her accession.
October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis		14 October 2022 – 20 October 2022	Only six weeks into her premiership, conservative MPs cited a loss in public confidence in Prime Minister Liz Truss's ministry following her September mini-budget. This culminated in Truss announcing her resignation on 20 October and an leadership election called to decide the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Death and funeral of Pope Benedict XVI		31 December 2022	Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at the Age of 95. The former German Pope resigned in 2013 as the first Pope to do so in more than 600 years.

Finnish and Swedish ambassadors submit their applications to join NATO to secretary general Jens Stoltenberg

The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II celebration at Oxford Street in London, which marked the 70th anniversary of her accession.

Crowds at Buckingham Palace following the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II.

Crowds at St. Peter's Square following the death and funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

Oceania

Further information: Category:2020s in Oceania

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
2021 Samoan constitutional crisis		22 May – 23 July 2021	Following a general election, the results were in stasis while incumbent prime minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi refused to step down. The Supreme Court of Samoa decided the matter, and the FAST party and its leader Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa was declared the winner.
2021 Solomon Islands unrest		24 – 27 November 2021	A period of unrest began due to a variety of factors, notably the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the decision to retract diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and instead recognize China.
2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis		May – October 2022	A crisis began when High Court Judge David Lambourne was suspended in May 2022 and Chief Justice Bill Hastings was suspended on 30 June 2022, both over allegations of misconduct. In October 2022, the President Taneti Maamau appointed Attorney General Tetiro Semilota as Acting Chief Justice.

World leaders

2020 – 2021 – 2022 – 2023

Assassinations and attempts

Further information: List of assassinations

Jovenel Moïse

Shinzo Abe

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

Date	Description
3 January 2020	Qasem Soleimani, Iranian general, and leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, was killed in an airstrike conducted by the United States near Baghdad International Airport.
27 November 2020	Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a senior official in the nuclear program in Iran, was killed in an ambush against his motorcade in Absard.
22 February 2021	Luca Attanasio, Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was killed by gunmen while traveling in North Kivu.
20 April 2021	Idriss Déby, 6th President of Chad, was killed while commanding forces against rebels during the Insurgency in Northern Chad.
6 May 2021	Mohamed Nasheed, Speaker of the Maldivian People's Majlis, is wounded in an explosion alleged by Maldivian authorities to have been conducted by religious extremists.
7 July 2021	Jovenel Moïse, 43rd President of Haiti, is killed by gunmen at his private residence. First Lady Martine Moïse is severely wounded.
15 October 2021	David Amess, British Conservative Party MP, is killed by an Islamic terrorist during a constituency surgery.
7 November 2021	Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Prime Minister of Iraq, survives a drone attack that injures six in his security detail.
3 February 2022	Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, 2nd Caliph of the Islamic State, is killed in Atme during a counter-terrorism raid by U.S. special forces in north-western Syria.
8 July 2022	Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, is killed while giving a campaign speech by a former navy sailor who held a grudge against the South Korean-based Unification Church.
31 July 2022	Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the Salafi-jihadist group al-Qaeda, was killed by a drone strike conducted by the US-based CIA in Kabul, Afghanistan.
12 August 2022	Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British-American novelist, is stabbed multiple times as he is about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, United States. Rushdie has been the subject of a fatwā written by Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini calling for his death since 1989.
1 September 2022	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, current Vice President and former President of Argentina, survives an attempt on her life after the assailant's weapon malfunctions.
28 October 2022	Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is the target of a failed assassination attempt when a man armed with a hammer breaks into her residence. He instead assaults her husband, causing serious injuries as she was not home at the time of the attempt.
3 November 2022	Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan, is shot in the leg while traveling in a convoy in Wazirabad amid the anti-government protests.

Disasters

Non-natural disasters

Aviation

Event	Date	Country	Description
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752	8 January 2020		Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who claimed to have mistaken it for a cruise missile. All 176 people on board were killed.
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303	22 May 2020		Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashed into a neighborhood in Karachi while attempting to land, killing 97 of the 99 people on board plus 1 person on the ground.
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182	9 January 2021		Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, killing all 62 people on board.
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735	21 March 2022		China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed into the ground near Wuzhou mid-flight, killing all 132 people on board.
Yeti Airlines Flight 691	15 January 2023		Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashes into a gorge while attempting to land in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board.

General

Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Beirut explosion	4 August 2020		A massive explosion occurred in the port of Beirut. The blast was so loud that it was even reported to be heard in Cyprus, which is approximately 240 km from the location of the explosion. The windows of major buildings in a 6-mile radius were shattered and roads were filled with debris. According to initial findings, it was estimated that a warehouse with 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, which was confiscated by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus and then stored in the port without proper safety measures for six years. 220 deaths were confirmed, more than 110 people were missing and at least 7,000 were reported injured. Beirut governor Marwan Abboud estimated that up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosions and there was $10–15 billion USD in property damage.
Surfside condominium collapse	24 June 2021		A 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed. As of 22 July 2021, a total of 98 people are confirmed to have died, while 11 were injured. One person was rescued from the rubble, and about 35 people were rescued on 24 June from the uncollapsed portion of the building, which was demolished 11 days later as a safety precaution due to the approach of Hurricane Elsa. On 7 July, authorities announced that the objective of the search was transitioning from rescue to recovery and that the missing victims are presumed dead.
2022 Yerevan explosion	14 August 2022		A large explosion took place in the Surmalu shopping centre in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. It caused widespread destruction and fire, leaving dozens of dead and injured. The explosion killed 16 people and injured 63, with nine missing as of 20 August.

Marine

Event	Date	Country	Description

Natural disasters

See also: Category:2020s natural disasters

Earthquakes and tsunamis

Main articles: List of earthquakes in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023

Note: This table is a chronological list of earthquakes reported with 7.5M_w  or greater or that have reported at least 100 fatalities.

Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Caribbean earthquake	28 January 2020		A 7.7Mw  struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and Cuba at 14:10 local time on 28 January 2020. The earthquake was also felt in the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Dominican Republic, and the Cayman Islands. No damages were reported. A small (12.2 cm) tsunami was reported in the Cayman Islands.
2020 Aegean Sea earthquake	30 October 2020		A 7.0 Mw  earthquake occurred about 14 km (8.7 mi) northeast of the Greek island of Samos, causing 119 deaths.
2021 West Sulawesi earthquake	15 January 2021		A 6.2 Mw  earthquake struck the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi, killing a minimum of 105 people.
2021 Haiti earthquake	14 August 2021		A 7.2 Mw  earthquake struck Haiti on 14 August 2021, resulting in at least 2,207 deaths.
June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake	22 June 2022		A 6.2 Mw  earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,163 people, with 1,150 in Afghanistan and 13 in Pakistan. The earthquake was so deadly because it hit a densely populated area with buildings too weak to resist earthquakes.
2022 West Java earthquake	21 November 2022		A 5.6 Mw  earthquake struck Indonesia in West Java, near Cianjur, killing 335-635 people, despite its moderate magnitude.

Tropical cyclones

Main articles: Tropical cyclones in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023

Event	Date	Country	Description
Cyclone Amphan	16–21 May 2020		118 people were killed and millions made homeless in the strongest storm in two decades. Damage was estimated at US$13.2 billion.
Hurricane Laura	20–29 August 2020		77 people were killed and thousands made homeless during one of the strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. Damages estimated at US$19.1 billion.
Typhoon Vamco (Ulysses)	8–15 November 2020		102 people were killed, and the typhoon contributed to the 2020 Central Vietnam Floods. Damages totaled up to US$440.8 million.
Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota	31 October–18 November 2020		A total of 278+ people were killed during both Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota in Nicaragua and Honduras. Damages totaled up to US$9.3 billion from both hurricanes.
Cyclone Tauktae	14-19 May 2021		This category-4 cyclone hit the western coast of India. 174 total fatalities recorded (all countries). Damages totaled up to US$2.12 billion. Other countries affected were Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Hurricane Ida	26 August–4 September 2021		95 people were killed in the United States. Damages totaled up to US$50 billion.
Typhoon Rai (Odette)	12–22 December 2021		Several southern provinces in the Philippines were flooded and ravaged by the typhoon. 392 people have died, with at least 515 people injured. Damages amount up to US$720 million.
Hurricane Ian	23 September — 2 October 2022		157 people killed with 16 unaccounted for across both the United States and Cuba. The entire nation of Cuba lost power and millions lost power in the United States.

Tornadoes

Main articles: Tornadoes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023

See also: List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2020–present)

Event	Date	Country	Description
2021 South Moravia tornado	24 June 2021		A small but significant tornado outbreak swept across the Czech Republic on 24 June, resulting in the strongest ever documented tornado in modern Czech history and the deadliest European tornado since 2001.
Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021	10—11 December 2021		Tornado activity swept the southern and midwestern United States in the evening of 10 December through the following morning. Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky suffered extensive damage.

Floods, avalanches, and mudslides

Note: This section reports only floods with 200 or more deaths and avalanches and landslides involving 30 or more deaths.

Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Van avalanches	4–5 February 2020		Two avalanches in Turkey's eastern Van Province resulted in 41 deaths and 84 injuries.
2020 East Africa floods	March - May 2020		Severe flooding in 9 African countries caused more than 450 deaths and affected more than 700,000 people, mainly in Kenya and Rwanda.
2020 Nepal floods	June - September 2020		The rainy season and associated flooding, which has killed more than 400 people, has been described by some in Nepal as the deadliest in recent memory.
2021 European floods	12–25 July 2021		Heavy flooding, particularly in river basins of western and central Europe, killed some 243 people and left €10 billion in damage.
2021 Henan floods	17–31 July 2021		Following the highest-ever recorded rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in China, between 300 and 400 deaths along with over 800,000 people having to evacuate.
2021 Maharashtra floods	22 July 2021 – August 2021		Over 250 deaths were reported in the Indian state of Maharashtra after heavy rainfall in the area.
2022 Petrópolis floods	15 February 2022		Intense rainfall led to mudslides and flooding on February 15, that destroyed parts of the city of Petrópolis in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro and killed more than 230 people.
2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods	8–21 April 2022		Flooding in the province of KwaZuku-Natal in South Africa leads to over 400 deaths.
2022 Afghanistan floods	5 May 2022 – August 2022		Several provinces of Afghanistan were affected by severe flooding beginning in May, which claimed more than 600 lives.
2022 India-Bangladesh floods	23 May 2022 – present		Deadly floods have been hitting northeastern India and Bangladesh since May 2022, killing more than 250 people and affecting 9 million people in both countries.
2022 Pakistan floods	14 June 2022 – October 2022		Floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people since June.
2022 Nigeria floods	May – October 2022		With more than 600 dead, the 2022 floods were the worst in the country since the floods in 2012.

Volcanic eruptions

Event	Date	Country	Description
2020–2022 Taal Volcano eruptions	12 January 2020 – 9 July 2021		On 12 January the Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupted at VEI 4 intensity, bringing intense ashfall to the surrounding areas and killing at least 3 people.
2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption	19 September 2021 – 13 December 2021		On 19 September the Cumbre Vieja volcano located in the La Palma island erupted.
2021 Semeru eruption	4 December 2021		The collapse of an unstable lava dome on the summit of Semeru due to heavy rainfall triggered large pyroclastic flows, killing 48, injuring over 100 and leaving 23 missing.
2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption and tsunami	15 January 2022		The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the South Pacific erupted violently on 15 January, causing tsunamis to hit Hawaii, Japan and Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, and sent waves flooding into Nukuʻalofa. Tonga finally disqualified in the FIFA World Cup.

Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires

Main page: Category:2020s wildfires

Event	Date	Country	Description
2018–2021 Southern African drought	October 2018 – October 2021		An ongoing period of drought began in the country of South Africa in late October 2018 and continued into early 2021, negatively affecting food security in the region.
2019–20 Australian bushfire season	June 2019 – May 2020		Unusually intense bushfires in Australia continued into 2020, having started in September 2019.
2020 Western U.S. Wildfires	March – December 2020		Record-breaking wildfires began in several Western American states.
2020 Argentine wildfires (Delta del Paraná)	July 2020 – October 2020		Sudden wildfires started in Córdoba and extended into several Northern provinces.
2021 Russian heatwave	May – June 2021		Parts of Russia and eastern Europe were hit by a record-breaking heat wave in May and June 2021, with temperatures in the Arctic Circle above 30 °C and the highest temperatures recorded in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
2021 Western North America heat wave	June – July 2021		Extreme temperatures caused by a prolonged heat dome over western Canada and the western United States kill over 613 people including over 480 people in British Columbia alone. The village of Lytton, British Columbia, which recorded the highest temperatures in Canada, is destroyed by a large wildfire as over 200 other ones devastate wide areas of the province. Wildfires in parts of the western coastal states of the US such as Washington, Oregon and California are also greatly worsened by the heatwave.
2021 Turkey wildfires	July – August 2021		Over a hundred wildfires began in the Mediterranean Region of the forest in Turkey, the worst in the country for at least a decade. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya on 28 July 2021, with the temperature around 37 °C (99 °F).
2020–2023 North American drought	August 2020 – Ongoing		Drought developed in the Western, Midwestern and Northeastern United States in the summer of 2020. Over the course of 2021, conditions improved in the Northeast but worsened in the Western US. As of June 2021, 97% of the region was facing abnormally dry conditions. By August 2021, parts of the upper Midwestern US were experiencing some of the worst drought spells since the 1980s. Drought also affected a wide area of Mexico as of 2021, as well as the prairies of Canada.
2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires	May – September 2022		Wildfires across Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean region.
2022 European drought	July – September 2022		Europe's worst year in 500 years. A report from the Global Drought Observatory confirmed this.

Pollution

Event	Date	Country	Description
2022 Oder environmental disaster	July 2022 – Ongoing		A mass fish kill occurs in the river Oder in Poland and Germany attributed to an algal bloom.

Other natural events

Beginning in 2019 until 2022, a huge swarm of desert locusts threatened to engulf massive portions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Economics

Main article: 2020s in economic history

See also: List of countries by Human Development Index, List of countries by GDP (nominal), and List of countries by GDP (PPP)

Events

2020

• The Brexit withdrawal agreement went into effect at the end of January 2020 with the UK completing its economic withdrawal from the EU at the end of that year.
• The United States, Mexico, and Canada signed the USMCA agreement, which came into effect on 1 July 2020.

2021

• The African Continental Free Trade Area, encompassing 54 of the African Union states comes into effect.
• Ever Given, a large container ship, runs aground in the Suez Canal for a week causing massive disruption of global trade.
• El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, after the Legislative Assembly votes 62–84 to pass a bill submitted by President Nayib Bukele classifying the cryptocurrency as such.

2022

• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Trade

The World Trade Organization reported that trade growth had stagnated and that trade restrictions were increasing as the decade began. The sectors most affected by import restrictions were mineral and fuel oils (17.7%), machinery and mechanical appliances (13%), electrical machinery and parts (11.7%), and precious metals (6%). Regional trade agreements were also found to be increasing.

Stock markets

Crashes

Event	Date	Country	Ref.
2020 stock market crash	20 February 2020 – 7 April 2020	Global

Cybersecurity and hacking

See also: Category:Hacking in the 2020s

Event	Date	Description
2020 Twitter account hijacking	15 July 2020	Multiple high-profile Twitter accounts, each with millions of followers, were compromised in a cyberattack to promote a bitcoin scam.
Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack	6 May 2021	Colonial Pipeline in Texas suffers debilitating ransomware cyberattack by Russian online group DarkSide causing substantial shortages in the southeastern USA.
Log4Shell	24 November 2021	Log4Shell affected hundreds of millions of devices through Java's open source Log4j making it the most serious security breach ever.
2022 Costa Rican cyberattack	17 April 2022	The Conti Group and the Hive Ransomware group attacked some public institutions in Costa Rica.

Health

Epidemics/Outbreaks

Event	Date	Infections and deaths	Description
2022–2023 monkeypox outbreak	29 April 2022 – present	84,471 confirmed cases and 246 deaths in 109 countries and territories reported by 16 January 2023.

Pandemics

Event	Date	Infections and deaths	Description
COVID-19 pandemic	2019 – present	674.4 million+ confirmed cases and 6.7 million+ deaths with more than 240 countries and territories reported by 27 January 2023.
HIV/AIDS	1981 – present	37.9 million people living with HIV (end of 2018), 24.5 million people accessing antiretroviral therapy (end of June 2019), 32.0 million deaths from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic (end 2018).

Science and technology

Main article: 2020s in science and technology

Space

See also: 2020s in spaceflight

2020

• Space company SpaceX sent two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on 30 May 2020, marking the first time a private company completed a crewed orbital spaceflight mission.
• NASA launched the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone on 30 July 2020 as part of their Mars 2020 mission to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. On 19 April 2021, the Ingenuity helicopter drone performed the first powered controlled flight by an aircraft on a planet other than Earth.
• The Royal Astronomical Society announced the detection of phosphine gas in Venus' atmosphere on 14 September 2020, which is known to be a strong predictor for the presence of microbial life.

2021

• China sends Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to assemble and then occupy and work aboard the Tiangong Space Station.
• Following the formal releases of three videos of UFOs (also known as UAPs) in 2020, a report on the subject by the United States Intelligence Community would be published on 25 June 2021 with the report concluding that UFOs existed. This would be the first time a government would officially confirm the existence of UFOs, though no conclusion was made on what these phenomena were, extraterrestrial or otherwise.
• On 11 July 2021, Virgin Galactic became the first spaceflight company to independently launch a paying civilian into outer space using the 50-mile high definition of outer space, having flown Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson above the 50 mile mark, enabling him and the rest of the crew to experience approximately 3 minutes of weightlessness above Earth's atmosphere.
• In July 2021, Blue Origin became the first spaceflight company to launch a fully automated spacecraft with civilian passengers into space, carrying its founder Jeff Bezos and three others. Two of the flight's crew members, Dutch student Oliver Daemen (age 18) and American aviator Wally Funk (age 82), became both the youngest and oldest people respectively to go to space (Funk's record was beaten nearly 3 month's later when actor William Shatner entered space onboard Blue Origin NS-18, at the age of 90).
• The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 December 2021, 12:20 UTC using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana.

2022

• The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully made contact with Dimorphos, in a test operated by NASA to test potential planetary defense to near-Earth objects.
• NASA successfully launched Artemis 1, an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission, after several months of delays.

Artificial intelligence

• DeepMind solves the protein folding problem to 90 percent accuracy, a 50-year-old grand challenge, at CASP14 in 2020.
• Text-to-image AI art systems like DALL-E (1 and 2) and Stable Diffusion are announced, capable of generating highly detailed and realistic images from text prompts.

Communications and electronics

• 5G became increasingly widespread by 2020.
• By 2020, 3D printing had reached decent quality and affordable pricing which allowed many people to own 3D printers.
• 8K resolution and 4K resolution becomes prevalent in consumer electronics.

Software and electronic platforms

• Support for Adobe Flash Player ended on 31 December 2020.
• Windows 11 is released on 5 October 2021, succeeding Windows 10.
• Support for Internet Explorer ended on 15 June 2022.
• Support for Windows 8.1 ended on 10 January 2023.

Technology

• The BBC reports that for the "first time someone who has had a complete cut to their spinal cord has been able to walk freely... because of an electrical implant that has been surgically attached to his spine".
• Sales of electric vehicles have grown significantly and this is expected to continue through the decade.

Society

Main article: 2020s in social history

Social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Main article: Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Medical experts advised, and local authorities often mandated stay-at-home orders to prevent gatherings of any size. Such gatherings could be replaced by teleconferencing, or in some cases with unconventional attempts to maintain social distancing with activities such as a balcony sing-along for a concert, or a "birthday parade" for a birthday party. Replacements for gatherings were seen as significant to mental health during the crisis. Social isolation among alcohol users also adopted a trend towards Kalsarikänni or "pantsdrunking", a Finnish antisocial drinking culture.

Low-income individuals were more likely to contract the coronavirus and to die from it. In both New York City and Barcelona, low-income neighborhoods were disproportionately hit by coronavirus cases. Hypotheses for why this was the case included that poorer families were more likely to live in crowded housing and work in low-skill jobs, such as supermarkets and elder care, which were deemed essential during the crisis. In the United States, millions of low-income people may lack access to health care due to being uninsured or underinsured. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance after losing their jobs. Many low-income workers in service jobs became unemployed.

The coronavirus pandemic was followed by a concern for a potential spike in suicides, exacerbated by social isolation due to quarantine and social-distancing guidelines, fear, and unemployment and financial factors. Many countries reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence attributed to lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial insecurity, stress, and uncertainty led to increased aggression at home, with abusers able to control large amounts of their victims' daily life. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a domestic violence "ceasefire".

Population

• The population of Egypt reached 100 million in February 2020.
• The world population reached 8 billion in November 2022.
• Population growth, life expectancy and birth rates declined globally in the early 2020s, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Race

The murder of George Floyd led to civil unrest and protests across the United States and internationally in 2020.

Gender

Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson and Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin were two female prime ministers in Scandinavia in 2022 while guiding both of their countries ascensions to NATO.

See also: Women in government

24.3% of all national parliamentarians were women as of February 2019. 11 women were serving as Head of State and 12 as Head of Government in June 2019. 20.7% of government ministers were women as of January 2019. There are wide regional variations in the average percentages of women parliamentarians. As of February 2019, these were: Nordic countries, 42.5%; Americas, 30.6%; Europe excluding Nordic countries, 27.2; sub-Saharan Africa, 23.9; Asia, 19.8%; Arab States, 19%; and the Pacific, 16.3%. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide, 61.3% of seats in the lower house. About 26% of elected local parliamentarians are women.

Many states swore in their first female leaders during the 2020s including Presidents Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Greece), Samia Suluku Hassan (Tanzania), Sandra Mason (Barbados), Xiomara Castro (Honduras), Katalin Novák (Hungary), Dina Boluarte (Peru) and Prime Ministers Kaja Kallas (Estonia), Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (Samoa), Robinah Nabbanja (Uganda), Najla Bouden (Tunisia), Magdalena Andersson (Sweden), Giorgia Meloni (Italy).

Environmentalism

• The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season devastated the environment of Australia.
• Team Seas is an international collaborative fundraiser founded by the YouTuber/Influencers Mark Rober and MrBeast on 29 October 2021, as a follow-up to Team Trees. The fundraiser's aim was to raise US$30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash from the ocean by the end of the year. They also partnered with the Ocean Cleanup and the Ocean Conservancy.

LGBT rights

• A law allowing third gender option on driver licenses took effect in New Hampshire.
• Switzerland banned discrimination based on sexuality due to a referendum, putting into effect a law previously introduced in 2018, that was subsequently blocked by the government that requested a referendum to be held on the matter first.
• In Northern Ireland, the first same-sex marriage took place after legalizing legislation took effect in January 2020.
• In Costa Rica, same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples became legal on 26 May 2020.
• The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that job discrimination against workers for their sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal.
• The Equality Act passed the United States House of Representatives on February 25, 2021.
• In Argentina, nonbinary ID cards with an "X" gender marker started to be issued by the Ministry of the Interior.
• The U.S State Department issued its first ever passport with an "X" gender marker in October 2021, intended to support nonbinary people.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Switzerland after a 2021 referendum, enforced beginning in July 2022.
• In Chile, same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples became legal on 10 March 2022.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Slovenia on 8 July 2022 after the Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled that the ban on same-sex marriages violated the national constitution.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Cuba on 27 September 2022 after the Cuban Family Code referendum passed.

Global goals and issues

Development in global goals and issues – including goals or progress related to the largest causes of human death – during the decade, according to reports that systematically track, quantify or review associated progress.

As of 2022

• Progress of the Paris Agreement or global climate change mitigation goals
  • The United in Science 2022 report by the WMO, summarizes latest climate science-related updates and assesses recent climate change mitigation progress as "going in the wrong direction".
  • A report by the World Resources Institute assesses the state of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), finding they need to be strengthened by about six times for alignment with what may be enough to reach the Paris Agreement's 1.5 °C goal. The UNFCCC's NDC synthesis report suggests that based on the latest NDCs the carbon budget for a 50% likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5 °C would be used up by around 2032.
  • A Lancet Countdown report publishes data of indicators that show "countries and companies continue to make choices that threaten the health and survival of people in every part of the world". It calls for an immediate, health-centred response at a critical juncture of recovery from crises.
  • The WMO reports atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, all reached record highs, with methane concentrations showing a record jump in 2021. The WMO Secretary-General concludes that "we are heading in the wrong direction", with time "running out".
  • Climate Action Tracker systematically assesses the state of progress of actions of climate goals in an overview, finding that none of the indicators is on track to reach their 2030 targets, with insufficient speed for six indicators, and well below the required pace for 21, five heading in the wrong direction, and data being insufficient to evaluate the remaining eight.
  • The UNEP's Emissions Gap Report finds that no credible "pathway" to the 1.5 °C climate goal is in place. Similarly, a UNFCCC synthesis about "long-term low-emission development strategies" warns that many net-zero targets "remain uncertain and postpone into the future critical action that needs to take place now".
• Deforestation mitigation goals
  • An annual report by the World Resources Institute shows that tropical regions lost 9.3 million acres of primary old-growth forest in 2021, a decline of 11% from 2020, and about equal to both 2018 and 2019.
  • The Forest Declaration Assessment finds that a drop of only 6.3% in deforestation in 2021 is "leaving the world off track from its goals of ending forest loss by 2030".
• Public health goals
  • The UN's "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" report finds that the number of people affected by hunger globally rose by 46 million to 828 million in 2021. 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, an increase of 112 million from 2019.
  • A WHO report indicates collective progress toward a 15% relative reduction in population levels of physical inactivity by 2030 is insufficient and that about 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other diseases if they don't increase their physical activity.
• Global budgets and government spending
  • The OECD and IEA report that global public subsidies for fossil fuels almost doubled from 2020 to $700bn in 2021.
• General well-being
  • The Club of Rome, authors of the 1972 The Limits to Growth, and research institutes like the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research publish the "Earth for All" report, concluding that to increase the wellbeing of humanity, addressing rising inequality is key to mitigating related issues such as climate change with many current policies disproportionately burdening lower income groups.
• Sustainable Development Goals (other than the above or in general)
  • The only UN report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development indicates the agenda is in "grave danger".
• GDP-alternative progress or sustainable development indices
  • Human Development Index (HDI): the Human Development Report 2021-22 concludes that for the first time, the global HDI value declined for a second year, with living standards declining in 90% of countries.

Popular culture

• 
  Wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was common in the early 2020s; vaccination status of individuals also became culturally relevant during the era.
• 
  The ninth generation of video game consoles, like PlayStation 5 (pictured) and Xbox Series X, were both released in 2020. The controllers for each system utilized new technologies.
• 
  The video-sharing site TikTok became a major influence to pop culture and the music industry in the early 2020s.
• 
  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many movies and shows were released on internet streaming services instead of theaters during the early 2020s. Netflix's Squid Game was a global success as a result of streaming and the pandemic in 2021.
• 
  Flashy multi-colored clothing became a trend in the early 2020s, as did baggier clothing such as hoodies, modeled here by musician Billie Eilish. The 2020s revived and built upon Y2K fashion trends.
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  In the 2020s, multiple online food delivery services such as Uber Eats, Postmates, DoorDash and Grubhub became popular. Pictured above is an Uber Eats employee delivering a meal.
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  Canadian singer The Weeknd was the first artist of the decade to achieve a Billboard number-one single of the year (for the year 2020) with his hit single "Blinding Lights", which was also performed during the Super Bowl LV in 2021.
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  The use of cryptocurrency became more mainstream in the 2020s. Crypto such as Bitcoin and others were notable. The Staples Center was even renamed Crypto.com Arena in 2021.
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  5G was introduced in smartphones during the early part of the decade, with the Samsung Galaxy S20 and iPhone 12 smartphones having 5G capabilities. Foldable smartphones also became more popular.
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  Using renewable energy sources such as electric vehicles as well as solar and wind powered devices to combat global warming became popular during the 2020s.
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  The early 2020s started with a rise in videoconferencing due to the pandemic, while many educational institutions and workplaces shifted to distance learning and remote work.
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  Summer Olympic Games of the 2020s include Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 as well as Tokyo in 2020 (the first ever Olympic games to be delayed, instead taking place in 2021).

Fashion

Main article: 2020s in fashion

Fashion trends of the early 2020s have been largely inspired by the 2000s and 1990s. Popular brands in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia during this era include Adidas, Fila, Nike, New Balance, Globe International, Vans, Kappa, Tommy Hilfiger, Asics, Ellesse, Ralph Lauren, Forever 21, Playboy and The North Face. Wearing a decorative mask to prevent the disease COVID-19 from spreading was a fashion trend in the early 2020s.

Film

Main article: 2020s in film

The highest-grossing film of the decade so far is James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water.

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted film releases early in the decade, resulting in a drastic drop in box office revenue as well as many films postponing their release or shifting it to a streaming services. Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing film of the decade, and currently the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. Other financially successful films at the box office include Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, and Jurassic World Dominion. Superhero films continued to do well financially, with Spider-Man: No Way Home being the second-highest-grossing of the decade. Other successful superhero films include The Batman, as well as much of Marvel Studios' "Multiverse Saga of the MCU" and DC Studios' "DC Extended Universe" films.

Critically and financially successful films nominated for awards like Nomadland, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Soul, CODA, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Licorice Pizza, and The Fabelmans were popular.

Movie reboots also were popular, as many movie reboots released on streaming services. Some of these film remakes and reboots include Bill & Ted Face the Music, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Top Gun: Maverick, He's All That, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, A Christmas Story Christmas, Scream, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Snow White, Coming 2 America, and Sam & Victor's Day Off.

Television

Main article: 2020s in television

The 2020s started off with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Binge, HBO Max, Showtime, Hulu, and Disney+. Additional streaming services such as Discovery+, Paramount+, and Peacock were released as well. In the 2020s more than any other time period, reboots and reunion episodes of older shows became widespread, including That '90s Show, How I Met Your Father, Night Court, Animaniacs, Punky Brewster, The Conners, The Wonder Years, Saved by the Bell, Cobra Kai, Friends: The Reunion ', Return to Hogwarts, And Just Like That..., Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch, Heartbreak High, two new seasons of Phineas and Ferb and Futurama, as well as Fraggle Rock, iCarly, Rugrats, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Frasier. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia became the longest-running live-action cable comedy in 2021, and Young Sheldon continued (the show seeing talent such as Simon Helberg reprise his role as Howard Wolowitz in 2021).

Streaming television such as Pluto TV and YouTube TV become more popular. New and critically acclaimed adult animation like Midnight Gospel and Smiling Friends launched in the 2020s.

A variety of shows on streaming such as Squid Game, Never Have I Ever, Tulsa King, The White Lotus, Succession, Ginny & Georgia, Wandavision, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Only Murders in the Building, Love, Victor, Wednesday, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Tiger King, Old Enough! and others gained popularity.

Music

Cupcakke, whose songs became popular through remixes and edits on TikTok and YouTube.

Main article: 2020s in music

By 2020, TikTok had become an extremely popular music platform on social media. Streaming on platforms such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and Apple Music increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Festivals such as Coachella were cancelled because of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the touring business.

Pop, hip hop, K-pop, R&B, nu disco and synthpop all dominated the early part of the decade, with the most popular artists being Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Jack Harlow, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, BTS, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Blackpink, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Beyoncé, the Kid Laroi, Lil Baby and more.

An alarming trend that increased in the late 2010s and continued into the early 2020s is the gun violence and murder seen within the hip hop community, with 15 high-profile hip hop artists murdered since the start of the decade (as of November 2022). The most notable being Pop Smoke, Houdini, Einár, Young Dolph, Drakeo the Ruler, PnB Rock, Takeoff and others.

Video games

Main article: 2020s in video games

The ninth generation of consoles began in 2020 with the release of the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, while the Nintendo Switch continued to be popular from the previous decade. Technological advancements in consoles included support for real-time ray tracing graphics and output for 4K or even 8K resolution. Physical media continued to be replaced by online distribution of games, with the Xbox Series S and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition lacking an optical drive. The Steam Deck was released in 2022 as Valve's attempt to bring PC-level gaming to a Nintendo Switch-style handheld format.

Critically successful games such as Elden Ring, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarök, and The Last of Us Part II were released and won multiple best game of the year awards, signaling a shift towards narrative-driven and single-played focused gaming compared with the end of the 2010s where popularity of multiplayer gaming dominated. Widely successful multiplayer games includes Fall Guys, Genshin Impact, It Takes Two, Overwatch 2, Valorant, and Warzone. The detective-party game Among Us surged in popularity in 2020 and became a global sensation, largely attributed in to global stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nintendo continued to successfully produce games for the Nintendo Switch, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons selling over 40 million copies, and making it the second-best-selling game on the console. The Nintendo Switch's sales also remained strong in the 2020s due in part to games such as Nintendo Switch Sports, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Bowser's Fury, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, WarioWare: Get It Together!, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Splatoon 3, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Video game film and television adaptations became more financially and critically successful compared with previous decades. Film releases include Nintendo and Illumination's 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a trilogy of Sonic the Hedgehog movies, the video game-themed Ready Player Two and Free Guy, as well as Uncharted. Television adaptations include Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and The Last of Us.

Architecture

Further information: Category:2020s architecture

There is a revival in expressionist architecture. The SoFi Stadium was completed on 8 September 2020 and is a component of Hollywood Park, a master-planned neighborhood in development in Inglewood, California. The stadium serves as a home to the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. SoFi Stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. The stadium is also set to host the opening and closing ceremonies, soccer and archery in the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States of America.

The Unity Tower was finally completed on 30 September 2020. The construction of the building originally started in 1975, but stopped permanently in 1981 because of economic constraints and political unrest at the time. Due to the unfinished building's resemblance to a skeleton, it was nicknamed after Skeletor, the arch-villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which was popular in Poland at the time construction began.

• In 2021, Renzo Piano completes the COVID-19-delayed Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California.

Sports

Main articles: List of Olympic Games host cities and List of FIFA World Cup finals

2020

Main article: 2020 in sports

• The COVID-19 pandemic leads to the cancellation or rescheduling of numerous sporting events globally:

The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were postponed to July–August 2021. This was the first Olympic Games to be postponed rather than cancelled in history.

The 2020 T20 Cricket World Cup, originally scheduled to take place in Australia, was rescheduled to occur in India in 2021. The tournament was ultimately held in the UAE and Oman (primarily the former) in 2021, with Australia winning the final against New Zealand to earn its first T20 World Cup title.

Sporting leagues such as the North American National Hockey League Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association, and the English Premier League adapt their seasons and championship play around COVID-19 by placing players in "bubbles" and televising games played in empty arenas and stadiums.

2021

Greek NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo won Finals MVP during the 2021 championship, playing for the Bucks

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9 in Super Bowl LV to win their second title in the NFL; Tom Brady won Super Bowl MVP for his performance.
• Due to cross-border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Hockey League (NHL) realigns its team divisions, with all seven Canadian teams competing in their own division for the first time. Tampa Bay Lightning win the second of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and third championship overall, defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
• The Atlanta Braves won their first World Series since 1995.
• With the easing of COVID restrictions in the UK, the 2021 Wimbledon Championships are held with full attendances. Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles title, his 20th Grand Slam win equaling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's record.
• Canada won their 27th ice hockey World title in 2021 IIHF World Championships, after defeating the reigning champion Finland in the final in overtime.
• Hideki Matsuyama wins the Masters, becoming the first-ever Japanese golfer to win a major golfing championship.
• The Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years and their second title overall, with Giannis Antetokounmpo named Finals MVP.
• Italy won UEFA Euro 2020 by defeating England 3–2 on penalties.
• Argentina wins the 2021 Copa América by defeating Brazil 1–0.
• The United States wins the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup by defeating Mexico 1–0.
• The 2020 Summer Olympics take place in Tokyo, Japan, being the country's fourth time hosting the games. The United States wins the most gold and overall medals, with China coming in second and host Japan coming in third.
• Max Verstappen wins the 2021 Formula One World Championship over Lewis Hamilton at the Yas Marina Circuit.

2022

Ram's Cooper Kupp played a key role in Super Bowl LVI, winning Super Bowl MVP

Argentine Lionel Messi was voted as the best player of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

• Senegal won the 2021 AFCON by defeating Egypt 4–2 on penalties.
• The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20 in Super Bowl LVI to win their second title in the NFL; Cooper Kupp won Super Bowl MVP for his performance.
• The 2022 Winter Olympics take place in Beijing, China, becoming the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympic Games. Norway wins the most gold and overall medals, with Germany coming in second and host China coming in third.
• The Kansas Jayhawks beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 72–69 in the 2022 NCAA Division I to win their fourth title; Ochai Agbaji won MVP for his performance.
• Finland won their first ever ice hockey Olympic gold medal in 2022 Winter Olympics and 4th ice hockey World title in 2022 IIHF World Championships in same year.
• The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals in a best-of-seven series winning their 7th title. Guard Stephen Curry was awarded the Finals MVP.
• The Colorado Avalanche defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning in a best-of-seven series, four games to two and winning their third Stanley Cup in 2021–22 NHL season.
• Argentina won 2022 FIBA AmeriCup by defeating Brazil 75–73.
• Australia won 2022 FIBA Asia Cup by defeating Lebanon 75–73.
• Spain won EuroBasket 2022 by defeating France 88–76.
• Kalle Rovanperä broke the late Colin McRae's record of becoming the youngest ever Rally World Champion after winning in 2022 Rally New Zealand.
• Max Verstappen won the 2022 Formula One World Championship at over Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc at the Suzuka Circuit.
• Argentina won 2022 FIFA World Cup by defeating France 4–2 on penalties, with Lionel Messi winning the Golden Ball and Kylian Mbappé winning the Golden Boot.

Food

Food delivery apps such as DoorDash, Instacart, Menulog, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Just Eat Takeaway flourished due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indoor dining was also closed in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and upon re-opening the usage of QR codes and other technologies in the restaurant industry increased compared to the 2010s in order to comply with pandemic restrictions.

Literature

Main page: Category:2020s in literature

Books published throughout the decade include The Vanishing Half, Leave the World Behind, Transcendent Kingdom, Memorial and The City We Became. Recent releases on this decade include How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates, Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange, Wikipedia @ 20 by Joseph M. Reagle Jr. and Jackie Koerner, and The Candy House.

Over a year after Friends: The Reunion, Matthew Perry released Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (which had a foreword written by Lisa Kudrow). The book became a New York Times best-seller.

See also

• List of decades
• 2020s in political history

Timeline

The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:

• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 2025
• 2026
• 2027
• 2028
• 2029

External links

Media related to 2020s at Wikimedia Commons