Two pronunciations are used to mention specific years of the 21st century in English. For example, 2010 is either pronounced "twenty-ten" or "two thousand (and) ten".
Social/political relations and crises
With the exception of ongoing conflicts from prior decades, mostly in Africa and Asia, the 2010s started out with a relatively mild geopolitical climate. However, after the start of the Arab Spring, tensions arose between world powers that gradually worsened in the first few years. In 2014, Russian military intervention in Ukraine triggered a sharp downward trend in Russo-Western relations, plunging them to their lowest since the Cold War ended in 1991. That same year, the rise of the jihadist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria prompted renewed intervention in the region. Other Islamist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaab remain active. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which both vie for regional influence and back opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars, deteriorated. The rise of China in international affairs has also gained momentum.
Starting in 2015, an influx of migrants caused internal strife in the European Union, which, on 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave. Support for Turkey's EU membership, once considerable, has eroded somewhat after a failed 2016 coup attempt triggered a widespread crackdown by the Turkish government. Intensifying Islamophobia and Euroscepticism have overall contributed to a spike in nationalism throughout Europe. Events in the United States have been marked by severe political polarization and growing economic inequality. The LGBT movements in the United States scored several victories, with the historic Obergefell v. Hodges case legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
The prominent wars of the decade include:
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (14 May 1948 –) – Since 1948, conflict between Jewish and Palestinian communities in Israel and the West Bank has continued to this day. After Israel occupied the West Bank, it began making settlements there, which has been an obstacle to the peace process. Tensions also remained high as Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been launching rockets and cross-border raids into Israeli territory, which Israel has responded with force.
War on Terror (11 September 2001 –) – Since the September 11 attacks, the United States and other governments in the world have been engaged in a war to eliminate terrorism. However, over time the war began to be seen more negatively, with various consequences. On 23 May 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama declared the war to be over, saying a war cannot be declared on a tactic and that anti-terrorism operations will be focused on specific groups instead.War in Afghanistan (7 October 2001 – 28 December 2014) – The United States, with support from NATO, invaded Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and overthrew the government. However, the Taliban later regrouped and began an insurgency in the country. Combat operations were declared over on 28 December 2014, though several thousand troops remain in the country to support Afghanistan's military.
Iraq War (20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011) – 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. After the invasion, the U.S. occupied the country. However, the occupation subsequently created an insurgency by jihadist groups opposed to it and sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in the country. At the end of 2011, U.S. forces officially withdrew from Iraq.
Military intervention in Libya (19 March – 31 October 2011) – In Libya, anti-government protests evolved into an armed rebellion after forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi began military operations against protesters. In response to the brutal crackdown, the United Nations authorized an international intervention in support of anti-Gaddafi militias. International forces, mainly from NATO countries, began airstrikes and enforced a no-fly zone. The intervention came to an end following the death of Gaddafi in Sirte.
War in Donbass and Russian military intervention in Ukraine (6 April 2014- and 20 February 2014- present)
Military intervention against ISIL (13 June 2014 –) – In late 2013, a terrorist organization 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, declaring itself to be a worldwide caliphate. Various international coalitions were formed to help fight the militants. By early 2016, ISIL had lost around 40% and 20% of its territory in Iraq and Syria respectively.
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen (26 March 2015 –) – After Houthi rebels overtook Sana'a on 6 February 2015, the internationally recognized government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi relocated to Aden. In response to a Houthi advance to the coastal city, the Hadi government made a plea for international assistance in taking out the Houthi rebels. Neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its allies accepted the plea and began carrying out airstrikes across the country to target the Houthi rebels and other non-state actors.
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War (30 September 2015 –) – By early 2015, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria's civil war began experiencing major setbacks. The Syrian government requested Russian military intervention. The Russian Air Force subsequently began airstrikes with the alleged target being jihadist like ISIL, but instead mostly targeted Syrian opposition rebels opposed to Assad.
War in North-West Pakistan (16 March 2004 –) –Since 2004, Pakistan has been fighting an insurgency by various armed militant groups in the country. The violence has killed almost 57,000 people since, with over 3 million more affected. By 2014, however, casualties from terrorist and militant attacks had dropped by around 40%.
Houthi insurgency in Yemen (14 June 2004 – 6 February 2015) – The Houthis, a Shia militant group, waged a war against the Yemeni government. Yemen had accused Iran of directing and financing the insurgency. Thousands of rebels and civilians were killed during the conflict. The insurgency came an end in 2015 when Houthi forces captured Sana'a and exiled the government to the port city of Aden.
Mexican Drug War (11 December 2006 –) – 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, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, led to increasing violence as cartels fought for control of trafficking routes into the United States.
Philippine Drug War (30 June 2016 –) – Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking in the country, since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated on 30 June 2016. It has caused 3,000 deaths.
War in Somalia (31 January 2009 –) – Following years of lawlessness in the country, the new Transitional Federal Government attempted to restore order in Somalia. However, Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group that gained prominence in the country during the period, had been waging an insurgency against the new government. In 2011, the federal government captured Mogadishu, the capital, 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.
Colombian Armed Conflict (1964 –) – Fighting between the Colombian government, left-wing guerrillas, and various paramilitary factions had been ongoing since 1964. However, since then end of the Cold War, the violence has sharply decreased as rebel groups gradually became more weakened with only two major groups remaining, FARC and ELN. The violence has killed over 222,000 people, mostly civilians since the conflict began. Since 2012, both groups have been in peace talks with the government, with FARC and the government signing a ceasefire in 2016.
Northern Mali conflict (16 January 2012 – 20 February 2015) – 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 Islamists groups took over Northern Mali from the Tuaregs and imposed sharia law on the region.
Libyan Civil War (15 February – 13 October 2011) – Inspired by the revolutions in their neighbours, Libyans began to protest against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule. However, unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, Gaddafi refused to step down and sent in the military to brutally quell protests. As a result, many army units had defected to the opposition and protests soon turned into an armed rebellion. With international help from NATO and neighbors in the region, the rebels were able to make rapid advances into Gaddafi's strongholds, capturing Tripoli, the capital, and eventually Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and last outpost, where he was killed. The war resulted in the death of at least fifty thousand people.
Syrian Civil War (since 15 March 2011) – Protests erupted in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad's rule and called for democratic reforms. The uprising later intensified after police and the army were sent in to crack down on protesters, laying siege to various opposition strongholds in the country. The uprising later morphed into war after army officers defected to the opposition, forming the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Over the course of the war, moderate rebel groups, including the FSA, began to splinter and lose influence in the conflict, allowing for Islamic extremist groups like Al-Nusra Front and ISIL to take control of vast amounts of territory. By 2014, ISIL was the main force fighting Assad.
Yemeni Civil War (since 19 March 2015)
The most prominent coups d'états committed against the ruling governments during the decade include:
2010 Nigerien coup d'état (18 February 2010)
2012 Malian coup d'état (21 March 2012)
2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état (12 April 2012)
2013 Egyptian coup d'état (3 July 2013)
2014 Thai coup d'état (22 May 2014)
2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état (21 September 2014)
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt (15 July 2016)
The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include:
In 2005, Iran's nuclear program became a source of tension due to fears that Iran could possibly divert civilian nuclear technology into a nuclear weapons program. This led the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran on select companies linked to Iran's nuclear program, causing further economic isolation of Iran. In 2015, Iran and other world powers agreed to trade sanctions relief for explicit constraints on Iran's nuclear program, including permanently closing their plutonium reactor, reducing the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges by two-thirds and allowing the inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 16 January 2016 the IAEA confirmed that Iran had complied with the agreement, allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.
In 8 April 2010, the United States and Russia signed a treaty in Prague, Czech Republic to reduce the stockpiles of their nuclear weapons by half. It is meant to replace the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which was set to expire. The treaty went into force on 5 February 2011 after it was ratified by both nations.
Throughout the decade, North Korea expanded its nuclear capabilities, performing alleged nuclear tests in 2013 and 2016, which governments responded by placing international sanctions on the country. In response North Korea has threatened the United States, South Korea and Japan with pre-emptive nuclear strikes.
Cyber security and hacking
Cyber security incidents, such as hacking, leaks or theft of sensitive information, gained increased attention of governments, corporations and individuals.
25 July 2010 – WikiLeaks published more than 90,000 internal U.S. military logs of the War in Afghanistan. The documents revealed how the coalition used special forces to hunt down Taliban leaders and "kill or capture" them without trial, increasingly used drones to attack alleged Taliban positions, covered up evidence of the Taliban acquiring surface-to-air missiles and the deaths of civilians by coalition forces and Taliban suicide bombings.
22 October 2010 – Wikileaks disclosed nearly 392,000 U.S. Army field reports of the Iraq War, which documented multiple cases of U.S. authorities failing to report torture, rape and other abuses of detainees and purposely misleading the death toll of the war, soldiers killing hundreds of civilians for coming too close to checkpoints and other war crimes. The leaks also showed that Iran was involved in the war by supplying Shiite militias with deadly weapons for use against civilians, Sunni Muslims and U.S. Army soldiers. It is the largest leak in the history of the U.S. military.
April 2013 – The Offshore leaks is the name of a report disclosing details of 130,000 offshore accounts. Some observers have called it one of the biggest hit against international tax fraud of all times, although it has been pointed out that normal businesses may use the offshore legislation to ease formalities in international trade. The report originated from the Washington D.C.-based investigative journalism nonprofit, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and was based on a cache of 2.5 million secret records about the offshore assets of people from 170 countries and territories, obtained by ICIJ's director.
5 June 2013 – Edward Snowden leaked files through the Guardian newspaper detailing National Security Agency (NSA) privacy policies, including PRISM, the NSA call database, and Boundless Informant. These leaks raised serious questions for civilians on whether their privacy should be breached in the name of public safety and whether that had already happened. Leaks also revealed covert actions against German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and have damaged diplomatic relations in Europe and Brazil.
February 2015 – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) website released information about bank accounts in Switzerland under the title Swiss Leaks. The investigation was conducted by over 130 journalists in Paris, Washington, Geneva, and 46 other countries. Investigators allege that 180.6 billion euros passed through HSBC accounts held in Geneva by over 100,000 clients and 20,000 offshore companies between November 2006 and March 2007. The data for this period comes from files removed from HSBC Private Bank by a former staffer and handed to French authorities in late 2008. The disclosed information has been called "the biggest leak in Swiss banking history".
5 June 2015 – The Office of Personnel Management of the U.S. government announced that it was hacked, resulting in a massive data breach, stealing information of around 21.5 million people. The attack was suspected to have originated from China but it remains unclear if it was or not.
4 February 2016 – The Bangladesh Bank became a victim of theft after hackers attempted to steal US$951 Million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York by taking credentials for payment transfers and then moving the money to the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The hackers failed to steal the attempted amount but still got away with $81 million, which was diverted to the Philippines, making it one of the largest bank heists in history.
27 March 2016 – Anonymous Philippines has hacked the website of Commission on Elections to force them to place security features on Vote Counting Machine (VCM). Soon, the LulzSec Pilipinas leaked sensitive information of voters all over the Philippines from the COMELEC website, and the incident has been called the "biggest government data breach in history". On 21 April, one of the hackers involved in the recent defacement and supposed leak of data from the Commission on Elections' official website has been arrested in Sampaloc, Manila. On 29 April, another hacker allegedly responsible for leaking the information of voters from the Comelec website was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation.
3 April 2016 – 11.5 millions confidential documents were leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that detailed financial and attorney–client information of more than 214,488 offshore companies. The leaks revealed information of various world leaders, politicians, billionaires and celebrities being involved in hidden financial dealings within tax havens and companies doing business with terrorist organizations and governments under international sanctions.
22 September 2016 – Yahoo Inc. reported that account information for up to 500 million users in 2014 had been hacked. Yahoo alleged in its statement that the act was "state-sponsored data breach." It was believed that the hack compromised personal data from the accounts including names, addresses, passwords, telephone numbers and possibly encrypted information including security questions. Further the statement claimed that the hacker was no longer in Yahoo's system and that the company was fully cooperating with law enforcement.
21 October 2016 – A currently unknown attacker launches multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attacks on networks operated by DNS provider Dyn, making numerous sites difficult or impossible to access for a period of time, including Twitter, Reddit, Netflix, Spotify, The New York Times, BBC News, and PayPal. The Department of Homeland Security opens an investigation.
The prominent political events include:
Africa
9 January 2011 – A referendum was held in Southern Sudan on whether the region should remain part of Sudan. An overwhelming majority voted in favour of separation and formed the new country of South Sudan.
14 January 2011 – Amidst anti-government protests, Tunisia's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency and resigned from office.
25 January 2011 – Inspired by the Tunisian demonstrations, protests erupted in Egypt, called for the departure of longtime President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011.
15 February 2011 – A popular revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule over Libya led to thousands of deaths and UN sanctions against the nation's government following a brutal crackdown against protesters.
16 January 2012 – An Islamist revolt in northern Mali threatened to gain control of the country. A coalition, led by France, intervened to assist the Malian government in fighting the militants.
25 March 2013 – Séléka rebels conquered the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, and forced President François Bozizé to flee the country, resulting in widespread sectarian violence.
3 July 2013 – Political violence broke out in Egypt after Abdul Fattah al-Sisi led the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in a coup.
5 December 2013 – Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died.
31 October 2014 – President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré resigned and fled to the Ivory Coast in the face of widespread protests, ending 27 years of authoritarian rule.
29 November 2014 – Former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak was found not guilty of charges of killing protesters in the 2011 Egyptian protests and was also cleared of corruption charges.
12 March 2015 – Nigeria's Boko Haram merged with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to form the so-called "West African Province".
29 March 2015 – Muhammadu Buhari was elected President of Nigeria, the first time the opposition ever won an election against an incumbent and the first ever peaceful transfer of power in the country.
26 April 2015 – Burundi faces unrest as President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in office, resulting in hundreds killed and thousands more fleeing the country.
1 December 2016 – Adama Barrow was elected President of The Gambia, defeating longtime President Yahya Jammeh and ending more than 22 years of authoritarian rule.
Americas
11 January 2010 – A trial to determine the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in the United States was held in California.
23 March 2010 – The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in an effort to reform the U.S. Health care system.
31 October 2010 – Dilma Rousseff was elected as the first female President of Brazil.
5 June 2011 – Ollanta Humala, was elected president of Peru.
17 September 2011 – Hundreds of protesters marched into the financial district of Wall Street in New York City beginning the Occupy Wall Street movement. The movement started a series of demonstrations and hundreds of encampments in cities across the nation, forming the Occupy movement.
1 July 2012 – Enrique Peña Nieto won the Mexican general election, bringing the Institutional Revolutionary Party back to prominence for the first time since 2000.
6 November 2012 – Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
5 March 2013 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died at the age of 58 after governing the country for 14 years.
13 March 2013 – Pope Francis of Argentina was elected as the first Pope from the Americas.
5 March 2014 – Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, severed diplomatic and political ties with Panama, accusing it of involvement in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government.
28 April 2014 – U.S. President Barack Obama's new economic sanctions against Russia went into effect, targeting companies and individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
17 December 2014 – U.S. President Barack Obama announces the resumption of normal relations between the US and Cuba, and an end to the United States embargo against Cuba, for the first time since January 1961.
26 June 2015 – Same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 U.S. states due to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States.
20 July 2015 – Cuba and the United States resume diplomatic relations between each other, ending more than 50 years of hostility.
19 October 2015 – The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, won Canada's federal election, defeating the Conservative Party in the country's longest election in a century.
22 November 2015 – Mauricio Macri was elected President of Argentina, ending over a decade of "Kirchnerism" in the country.
6 December 2015 – The PSUV lost their majority in the National assembly of Venezuela to the opposition for the first time since 1999.
12 May 2016 – The Brazilian Senate votes (55-22) to open the impeachment process against the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office while the trial takes place as the Vice President of Brazil, Michel Temer, assumes the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil.
5 June 2016 – Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected president of Peru.
23 June 2016 – The government of Colombia and FARC rebels signed a ceasefire, officially ending over 50 years of conflict between the two.
8 November 2016 – Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the race to succeed Obama.
25 November 2016 – Former President of Cuba and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90.
Asia
7 April 2010 – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Bishkek amid fierce anti-government riots as the opposition seized control.
10 May 2010 – Benigno Aquino III was elected President of the Philippines.
7 November 2010 – Thein Sein was elected President of Myanmar, the first civilian President of the country since 1962.
13 November 2010 – Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi was released from her house arrest after being incarcerated since 1989.
15 March 2011 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declared a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council were sent to quell the civil unrest.
17 December 2011 – Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il of North Korea died after governing the country for 17 years. His son, Kim Jong-un, succeeded him.
8 November 2012 – The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Xi Jinping being chosen as the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
19 December 2012 – Park Geun-hye was elected President of South Korea, the first woman to hold the position.
26 December 2012 – The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Shinzō Abe, won a landslide victory in Japan's general election.
11 March 2013 – The Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea broke all peace pacts with South Korea and started a new nuclear weapons plan, inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
12 May 2014 – The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, won a landslide victory in India's general election, the first time BJP gained a majority since 1984.
23 May 2014 – Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is home-arrested in the wake of a military coup.
9 July 2014 – Joko Widodo won Indonesia's presidential election, becoming the first president to not be from the country's political elite or military.
26 September 2014 – Protests erupted in Hong Kong after proposed new electoral reforms prompted concerns of growing mainland Chinese influence in the politics of the island.
22 January 2015 – After Houthi forces seized the presidential palace, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned after months of unrest.
23 January 2015 – Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015, died and is replaced by King Salman.
23 March 2015 – Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, died.
6 June 2015 – India and Bangladesh officially ratified their 1974 agreement to exchange enclaves along their border.
7 November 2015 – Chinese leader and Taiwanese president, Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, formally meet, the first time any leader of their respective countries met since 1949.
8 November 2015 – The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a sweeping victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election since 1990.
3 January 2016 – Following the fallout caused by the Execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Saudi Shia cleric, Saudi Arabia and its allies severed their diplomatic relations with Iran.
16 January 2016 – Tsai Ing-wen was elected President of Taiwan, the first woman to hold the position.
2 April 2016 – Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani military in Nagorno-Karabakh kill at least 193 people, which becomes the heaviest breach of the 1994 ceasefire.
9 May 2016 – Rodrigo Duterte was elected President of the Philippines.
12 July 2016 – The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's nine-dotted line claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
15 July 2016 – A coup d'état is launched against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government of Turkey, but ultimately fails on 16 July.
13 October 2016 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand from 1946 to 2016, died and replaced by his son, Vajiralongkorn.
9 December 2016 - Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, Park was the second President of South Korea to be impeached
Europe
6 May 2010 – The 2010 United Kingdom election resulted in the first "hung parliament" since 1974.
15 February 2011 – Longtime Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was indicted for allegedly paying for sex with an underage nightclub dancer, and ordered to stand trial. Berlusconi resigned in November and Mario Monti was appointed Prime Minister and held the office until 2013.
5 May 2011 – The Scottish National Party won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament under Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. The SNP's transition from a minority government to a majority government allowed them to pledge to have a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.
22 April 2012 – François Hollande was elected as the new President of France, becoming the first socialist president of the country in 17 years.
28 February 2013 – Benedict XVI resigned as pope, the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294.
8 April 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died.
20 April 2013 – Amid growing financial tensions, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected, the first ever Italian president to be re-elected. Napolitano appointed Enrico Letta Prime Minister, at the head of a Grand coalition.
30 April 2013 – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander, who became the country's first king in over a century.
21 February 2014 – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following violent protests in the capital, Kiev. The opposition-controlled Verkhovna Rada voted to remove him as president.
22 February 2014 – Matteo Renzi, after becoming the new leader of the Italian Democratic Party, forced Enrico Letta to resign and was elected Prime Minister, starting a program of radical constitutional reforms. Renzi is the youngest Prime Minister in the Italian history.
18 March 2014 – Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine following an internationally unrecognized referendum on the status of the region.
22 May 2014 – The UK Independence Party received the most votes in the European election for the United Kingdom, the first time a third party won an election in the country since 1906.
24 May 2014 – The French National Front won the most votes in the European election in respect to France, leading to fears of a growing far-right in mainland Europe.
18 September 2014 – In the Scottish independence referendum, Scotland voted to remain in the United Kingdom, with 55.3% of votes against independence while 44.7% voted in favour.
19 June 2014 – King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI.
26 January 2015 – Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the anti-austerity Syriza party, was elected as Prime Minister of Greece.
12 February 2015 – Leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France reached an agreement on the conflict in Eastern Ukraine that included a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, the truce has largely failed to stop the fighting, with skirmishes continuing unabated.
23 May 2015 – The Republic of Ireland voted to legalize same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.
1 July 2015 – Greece became the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the fund's 71-year history.
12 February 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill signed an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
23 June 2016 – In a referendum held in the United Kingdom on whether or not to continue being a member of the European Union, 52% of voters chose to leave it.
13 July 2016 – Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming Britain's second female prime minister since Margaret Thatcher after a leadership election.
12 December 2016 – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after the result constitutional referendum, in which Italians rejected his reform to overhaul the Senate of the Republic. The Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni was appointed new Prime Minister.
Oceania
24 June 2010 – Julia Gillard succeeded Kevin Rudd as the Prime Minister of Australia, becoming Australia's first female prime minister after a leadership spill.
19 August 2013 – Same-sex marriage was legalized in New Zealand, making it the first country in Oceania to allow same-sex couples to marry.
17 September 2014 – Former Fijian military commander Frank Bainimarama won Fiji's first democratic election since a coup in 2006, officially ending years of military rule.
4 July 2015 – Tupou VI was crowned King of Tonga, succeeding his brother George Tupou V, who died in 2012.
15 September 2015 – Malcolm Turnbull succeeded Tony Abbott as Prime Minister of Australia after a leadership spill.
11 December 2016 – Bill English becomes Prime Minister of New Zealand after the resignation of John Key.
Note: Names of country leaders shown below in bold face have remained in power continuously throughout the entirety of the decade (as of February 2017).
Assassinations, targeted killings and assassination attempts
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
1 January 2011 – Reynaldo Dagsa, Philippine Barangay official from Caloocan, was assassinated by two men during New Year's Eve.
8 January 2011 – Federal judge John Roll and 5 others were killed and 13 more were injured in a shooting near Tucson. The shooting was reported to be an assassination attempt. The apparent target, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, was critically injured in the head.
2 May 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an operation conducted by a team of United States Navy SEAL commandos.
15 August 2011 – Esmael Mangudadatu, Governor of Maguindanao was a victim of a car bomb in Tacurong city, Sultan Kudarat. Two people were killed, including a Maguindanao board member, while six others were wounded.
30 September 2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior talent recruiter, planner and spiritual leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in the northern al-Jawf province of Yemen, using two US Predator drones fired Hellfire missiles.
20 October 2011 – Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's ousted leader, was shot to death in Sirte.
4 September 2012 – Pauline Marois, Premier-designate of Quebec, escaped death during her victory speech after Richard Henry Bain opened fire at the Metropolis in Montreal, killing one person and critically injuring another.
9 October 2012 – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Women's rights activist was the victim of assassination attempt by the Taliban in Pakistan.
6 February 2013 – Chokri Belaid, Tunisian opposition leader of the Democratic Patriots' Unified Party, was fatally shot.
22 May 2013 – Lee Rigby, a British Army soldier who was killed by Islamic extremists with links to Al-Qaeda, the first such attack by the group in the United Kingdom since 2005.
25 January 2015 – Zulkifli Abdhir, suspected member of Jemaah Islamiyah, was killed in a police operation in Mamasapano, Philippines.
27 February 2015 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian physicist, statesman and opposition politician, was assassinated on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, Central Moscow, Russia, within sight of the Kremlin.
5 March 2015 – Mark Lippert, United States Ambassador to South Korea, was rushed into hospital after he was attacked by a knife-wielding man identified as Kim Ki-jong at a restaurant attached to Sejong Center in downtown Seoul, where Lippert was scheduled to give a speech at a meeting of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation.
26 August 2015 – Alison Parker and Adam Ward, news reporter and camera operator of CBS affiliate WDBJ of Roanoke, Virginia were shot and killed on live television during an interview in Moneta, Virginia.
1 March 2016 – Aid al-Qarni, Islamic Muslim scholar, author and activist was shot injured in an assassination attempt in Zamboanga City in the Philippines.
16 June 2016 – Jo Cox, British MP, was shot and stabbed to death by a Neo-Nazi white supremacist in Birstall, England. She was the first British MP assassinated in over a quarter of a century and the first female politician in Britain to be assassinated.
19 December 2016 – Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, was killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in Ankara.
1 January 2017 – Emmanuel Niyonkuru, Burundian environment minister, was shot dead in the nation's capital, Bujumbura.
13 February 2017 - Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of the late Kim Jong-il, was assassinated by two women in Malaysia with a VX nerve agent.
The most prominent disasters include:
25 January 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board.
10 April 2010 – Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of Polish government and military officials were among 96 people killed when their plane crashed near Smolensk, Russia.
12 May 2010 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed on a runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing all but one of the 104 passengers and crew.
22 May 2010 – Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 people, with eight surviving.
28 July 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 en route from Karachi to Islamabad crashed in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad, killing all 152 aboard, becoming the deadliest air crash in Pakistan's history.
10 December 2011 – Parañaque plane crash kills 14 people in a slum area.
3 June 2012 – Dana Air Flight 992 crashed in the Nigerian city of Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard. 10 people on the ground also perished.
18 August 2012 – A plane carrying four people – two pilots, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Jesse Robredo and his aide, crashed off the shore of Masbate Island en route to Robredo's hometown of Naga City from Cebu City. His aide survived the crash, however the Secretary and the two pilots did not survived.
6 July 2013 – Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco airport killing 3 and injuring 181 people.
8 March 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The bulk of the plane is still missing, with all 239 people on board presumed dead. The first remains of the aircraft were found on 29 July 2015, after they washed ashore on Réunion Island.
14 May 2014 – A Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force airplane crashed in northern Laos, killing 16 people, among them several prominent Laotian statesmen, including Defense Minister Douangchay Phichit.
17 July 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine and crashed near the Ukrainian-Russian border, killing all 298 people on board, making it the deadliest airline shoot down in history.
24 July 2014 – Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashed in southern Mali, killing all 116 passengers and crew.
28 December 2014 – Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed in the Java sea after an attempt to avoid heavy thunderstorms, leaving all 162 people dead.
9 March 2015 – Two helicopters collided in mid-air in a remote area of northwestern Argentina leaving at least ten dead. Among the dead were a group of French sports stars participating in a reality-television show called Dropped.
24 March 2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.
8 May 2015 – Ambassadors Leif Larsen of Norway, Domingo Lucenario of the Philippines, Burhan Muhammad of Indonesia and other diplomats and the two helicopter pilots were killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan.
30 June 2015 – A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Indonesian Air Force crashed into a crowded residential neighborhood in Medan shortly after take-off from Soewondo Air Force Base, killing 143 people including 22 on the ground, making it the deadliest crash in Indonesian Air Force peacetime history.
31 October 2015 – Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 217 passengers and crew on board.
24 November 2015 – Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.
19 March 2016 – Flydubai Flight 981 crashed in the runway of Rostov-on-Don Airport in Russia, killing 62 passengers and crews.
19 May 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 was an international passenger flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo International Airport, operated by EgyptAir, that went missing over the Mediterranean Sea near the Greek island of Karpathos. There were 66 people on board who are still missing.
29 November 2016 – A chartered Avro RJ85 plane carrying 77 people, including the Chapecoense football team, crashes near Medellín, Colombia. Rescuers report at least six survivors have been found in the wreckage. The 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals are suspended.
25 December 2016 – A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.
27 January 2013 – 242 people were killed in a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil.
24 April 2013 – An eight story factory building collapsed in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring over 2,000 more, becoming the deadliest structural failure in history.
12 November 2013 – The roof of a shopping centre in Zolitūde, Latvia collapsed, killing 54 people and resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.
13 May 2015 – At least 72 were killed in a fire at a slipper manufacturing factory in Valenzuela City, Philippines.
13 August 2015 – Two explosions occurred within 30 seconds of each other at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China, killing at least 173.
11 September 2015 – A crane toppled over at Mecca, killing 111 people, weeks before the official Hajj pilgrimage.
24 September 2015 – A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 2,236 people, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history.
30 October 2015 – A fire broke out at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, killing 63 people and resulting in widespread protests that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
5 November 2015 – The Bento Rodrigues dam disaster occurred in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, when an iron ore tailings dam in Bento Rodrigues, a subdistrict of Mariana, Brazil, suffered a catastrophic failure, causing flooding and at least 17 deaths. At least 16 people have been injured. This incident has been described as the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history.
13 January 2012 – The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially capsized off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy, killing 32 people.
17 January 2013 – USS Guardian (MCM-5), an American mine countermeasures ship, ran ground at Tubbataha Reef, testing relations between the Philippines and the United States.
16 August 2013 – MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided with MV Sulpicio Express Siete resulting in 55 deaths. 65 people remain missing.
16 April 2014 – South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized while en route to Jeju, killing 295 people, mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School.
1 June 2015 – The river cruise ship Dong Fang Zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze River after being hit by a waterspout, killing 442 people, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in China's peacetime history.
2 July 2015 – MB Kim Nirvana, a motorized jukung bound for Camotes Islands which carried 173 passengers, capsized off the coast of Ormoc, killing 62 passengers.
20 April 2010 – An explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive oil spill, becoming the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
11 March 2011 – A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sendai caused a tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants. The damage resulted in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster, contaminating the entire area.
25 April 2014 – The U.S. city of Flint, Michigan's water source was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River, where officials had failed to apply corrosion inhibitors. This decision led to the water being contaminated by lead and eventual nationwide outrage about an alleged coverup.
12 January 2010 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, causing widespread destruction in Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities believe that the disaster killed between 200,000 and 250,000 people and over three million more were affected by the quake
27 February 2010 – An 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chile, triggering a tsunami across the Pacific and killing 497. One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, this rare megathrust earthquake likely shifted Earth's axis and slightly shortened its days.
20 March 2010 – Eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano of Iceland in April caused unprecedented disruption to international air travel, rendering transatlantic flight impossible and closing airways across much of Europe, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers. The event was the largest air traffic shut-down since World War II. The International Air Transport Association estimated that the airline industry worldwide would lose €148 million or GB£130 million a day during the disruption.
4 April 2010 (Easter Sunday) – A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Mexicali and Baja, killing four and injuring one hundred. US border towns in Imperial Valley, California were affected.
13 April 2010 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in western China, killing at least 2,200 and injuring more than 12,000.
Early November 2010 – Mount Merapi erupted in Indonesia, killing 353 people and grounding flights across Southeast Asia, becoming the largest eruption from the mountain in a century.
July 2010 – Flooding occurred in Pakistan after record monsoon rains, killing at least 1,600 people, thousands were rendered homeless, and more than thirteen million people were affected. Estimates from rescue service officials suggest the death toll might have reached 3,000.
18 October 2010 – Typhoon Megi hit the Philippines, killing at least 69 and causing US$709 million in damage. It was the deadliest tropical cyclone to ever hit the Philippines.
11 January 2011 – Floods and mudslides killed 903 people across the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
22 February 2011 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people.
11 March 2011 – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Sendai, Japan. It created a 30 feet (9.1 m) high tsunami, leaving 15,893 dead, 2,565 missing and over 150,000 displaced. It was the largest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years.
25–28 April 2011 – A tornado outbreak in the United States killed 342 people across seven states. It was the largest and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in United States history.
21 May 2011 – Another US tornado outbreak took place over six days. 178 people were killed, most of which occurred in Joplin, Missouri after an EF5 tornado swept through the city, killing 161 people.
23 October 2011 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkish city of Van, leaving over 604 dead and thousands more injured.
29 October 2011 – A rare October snow storm hit the northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic United States days before Halloween, leaving millions without power and killing 15.
16 December 2011 – Tropical Storm Washi caused catastrophic damage on the Philippine island of Mindanao. More than 1,000 were died and thousands were injured or missing.
25 October 2012 – Hurricane Sandy caused immense destruction in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the United States, leaving at least 233 dead. It became the largest Atlantic tropical storm ever.
2 December 2012 – Typhoon Bopha struck the Philippines, killing at least 650 people and leaving millions more homeless.
7 February 2013 – A massive blizzard hit the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada, killing 18 and dropping a near-record amount of snow.
20 May 2013 – A tornado killed 24 and wounded over 300 in Moore, Oklahoma.
19 June 2013 – Massive flooding occurred in Alberta, becoming the province's worst flooding in decades.
15 October 2013 – A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Visayas region of the Philippines, killing over 200 people.
7 November 2013 – Typhoon Haiyan hits the Philippines, killing at least 6,000 people, with a thousand more still missing, making it the deadliest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines.
6 December 2014 – Typhoon Hagupit hit the Philippines killing at least 18 and causing $114 million in damage.
24 February 2015 – An avalanche killed 310 people and wounded over 129 in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan.
13 March 2015 – Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu, killing a total of 16 people with around 166,000 people affected, more than half the population of the entire country. It is the worst tropical cyclone to ever strike the country.
25 April 2015 – A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal killed at least 8,857 people and injured tens of thousands more. It is the worst disaster to hit Nepal in decades.
12 May 2015 – A second major earthquake hit Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, killing 218 more people.
24 May 2015 – A heatwave in Southern India resulted in over 2,500 deaths.
20 June 2015 – A related heatwave hit neighbouring Pakistan, killing over 2,000 people in Karachi alone.
16 September 2015 – An 8.3 magnitude earthquake jolted Chile, killing over 14 people.
17–19 October 2015 – Typhoon Koppu hit the Philippines and killed at least 48 and caused $235.8 million in damages.
23 October 2015 – Hurricane Patricia was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and second most intense globally, with winds of 215 miles per hour (346 km/h) and a pressure of 872 millibars (872 hPa).
26 October 2015 – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths, with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India.
13 December 2015 – Typhoon Melor hits the Philippines, killing 42 and causing $136 billion in damages.
20 February 2016 – Cyclone Winston struck Fiji, killing 44 people and causing over $2.98 billion in damages, making it the costliest tropical cyclone in South Pacific history.
16 April 2016 – A 7.0 earthquake struck near Kumamoto City of Kumamoto Prefecture, resulting in at least 44 deaths and about 3,000 injured. More than 44,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.
16 April 2016 – A 7.8 earthquake struck near Muisne, Ecuador, killing over 673 people and displacing at least 25,000 more.
1 May 2016 – A wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On 3 May, it swept through the community, destroying more than 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history. The wildfire is the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
12 August 2016 – The 2016 Louisiana floods are a period of prolonged rainfall in southern parts of the U.S. state of Louisiana that resulted in catastrophic flooding that submerged thousands of houses and businesses. The flood has been called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 13 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding.
16 August 2016 – The Blue Cut Fire was a wildfire in the Cajon Pass, northeastern San Gabriel Mountains, and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. As of 20 August 2016 the fire has destroyed 105 homes and 213 other structures and continues to burn.
24 August 2016 – The August 2016 Central Italy earthquake was 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Central Italy close to Norcia, 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Perugia and 45 km (28 mi) north of L'Aquila, in an area near the tripoint of the Umbria, Lazio, and Marche regions. At least 298 people have been left dead.
19 October 2016 – Typhoon Haima hits northern Luzon, killing at least 14 people. Typhoon signal number 5 is raised for the first time before and after its landfall.
6 December 2013 – An outbreak of the ebola virus, the worst of its kind in history, killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa. In August 2014, the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency of international concern. On 14 January 2016, the WHO has declared the epidemic to be over, despite continuing small flare-ups.
8 April 2015 – A zika virus spreads rapidly throughout Latin America, with imported cases being reported worldwide.
20 May 2015 – South Korea faced an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, resulting in over thirty deaths and the quarantine of thousands more.
The 2010s began amidst a global financial crisis that started in the late 2000s. In particular, the Eurozone debt crisis, which began during 2009, continued into the 2010s. Despite the crisis, the American Dow Jones Industrial Average had its longest stretch of gains since the late 1990s tech boom. However, economic issues, including inflation and an increase in commodity prices, sparked unrest in many lower-income countries. In some countries, particularly those in the Arab world, political unrest evolved into socioeconomic crises. This set off numerous revolutions, including those in Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia in 2010, and Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt in 2011 and 2012. This trend became known as the Arab Spring, and was followed by the Arab Winter. In the United States, a Gallup poll in 2011 found that more than half of Americans believed the country was still in a recession. Global oil production in 2014 reached an historic peak, reaching 93 million barrels/day.
A sovereign-debt crisis in Europe began in early 2010, and the Greek government admitted that it was having difficulties servicing its large sovereign debt. In the summer and fall of 2011 bond yields for Italy and Spain spiked above 6 percent. By 2015 bond rates had returned to normal ranges across Europe, save for Greece, which accepted another, even more stringent bailout package. The size of the European Financial Stability Facility was increased from €440 billion to €2 trillion.
China became the second largest global economy, surpassing Japan.
In August 2011, the S&P downgraded the United States' credit rating from triple AAA to AA-plus.
India became the fastest growing major economy of the world in 2015, surpassing China.
Japan also saw a rating downgrade due to debt burden.
Society and trends
Many countries reported declining fertility rates in their 2010 censuses. Young people now spent their entire lives in the context of online interactive technology.
The 2010s are the decade in which most baby boomers in developed nations are to retire, putting pressure on pension programs and other safety net programs. The consequences of an aging society were felt hardest in Europe, Russia and Japan, which were the first to experience substantial population decline. Over 20% of Japan's population is over the age of 65, making it the most elderly nation. As a result, Japan examined alternative solutions for elder care, including robots. In the United States, proposals for revising Medicare and Social Security proliferated, including raising the age of retirement or adjusting benefit amounts. Opponents instead wanted to increase benefit levels.
In 2010, France debated and raised the retirement age from 60 to 62, despite widespread demonstrations in opposition. A few years later the threshold was lowered back to 60.
Political polarization increased as conservatives and progressives clashed over the role of government and other social, economic and environmental issues. US polls showed a divided electorate regarding job creation, debt reduction and taxation. Street movements protesting the increasing numbers of refugees from Islamic nations have developed, such as the English Defence League and Pegida. There have also been increasing calls for egalitarianism including between the sexes.
Acceptance of LGBT people slowly increased. In June 2011 the United Nations passed its first motion in support of LGBT rights. Although many nations allowed gays to serve in their militaries, a major milestone came in September 2011 when the US abolished its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Marriage for same-sex couples was an ongoing debate in many nations, while over eighteen nations legalized same-sex marriage. Ireland, in 2015, became the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage via referendum.
In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that criminalized expression of homosexuality. St. Petersburg drafted its own ban on homosexual expression, and banned pride events as well.
In 2013, Baauer's "Harlem Shake" was the first Internet meme song to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Top 100, reflecting a shift in popular culture as Internet memes became mainstream.
The youth of the 2010s were called the "best-behaved generation on record." In May 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control released a report stating that teenage pregnancies and their uses of drugs and alcohol reached record lows. A 2013 survey showed that the rate of teen smoking dropped to 15.7%, the rate of teenagers having underage sex dropped to 34% and the rate of teenagers participating in a physical fight dropped to 25%, much lower than their counterparts 22 years earlier. E-cigarette and smokeless tobacco use among teenagers rose.
New urbanism and urban revival influenced urban planning in the United States and other developed countries. However, growth of American suburbs still outpaces urban growth.
Environmentalism gained, though action on curbing fossil fuels has been limited.
In the world of work, forms of employment such as zero-hour contracts, agency work and self-employment using on-call schedulling is now the norm with the majority of the workforce on them in the United States and the United Kingdom as traditional employment, i.e. directly-employed, full-time permanent jobs, is becoming obselescent. These jobs are often low-paid, usually at or near the national minimum wage. This results in greater poverty and economic precarity that affects the majority of the population in both countries.
China was increasingly called a superpower in the early 2010s, including at the 2011 meeting between Hu Jintao and Barack Obama. China overtook the US as the world's largest trading nation, filing the most patents, expanding its military, landing its lunar rover Yutu on the moon, ending the nearly four-decade malaise of moon exploration and creating China's Oriental Movie Metropolis as a major film and cultural center. China was projected to have the world's largest economy by 2018 with an estimated GDP per capita equal to the US by the late 2050s.
In America, migration declined to its lowest level since tracking began in 1948.
AIDS, a pandemic responsible for killing over 30 million people since its discovery in the early 1980s, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, became a treatable condition, though only one case had been cured. With good treatment patients can generally expect normal lives and lifespans. However, as of 2011 only some 5 million of the 12 million afflicted have access to such treatment.
The state of California suffered through a water drought for the most part of the decade, affecting the way how Californians showered, use their drinking water, and even some of their electricity.
These are the 10 most significant scientific researchs by year based on the annual award Breakthrough of the Year made by the AAAS journal, Science.
Information and communications
3 April 2010 – Apple Inc. launched the iPad, its first tablet computer, which offers multi-touch interaction. The iPad became an immediate bestseller and only months after its release became the best selling tech gadget in history.
2010 – Sales for PCs decline in favor of tablet computers and laptop convertibles.
3 February 2011 – The supply of IPv4 internet addresses was exhausted. An early period of transition to IPv6 continued during 2011.
29 March 2011 – More than 2 billion people used the Internet.
2011 – One billion mobile broadband users predicted and 4.6 billion people worldwide were subscribed to mobile phones.
2011 – Americans spent more time using mobile apps than using the World Wide Web.
Early 2012 – Samsung overtook Nokia for the first time as the largest mobile phone maker in the world.
3 February 2012 – Tablet and smartphone sales overtook netbooks.
2012 – Samsung overtook Nokia for the first time as the largest mobile phone maker in the world.
21 May 2012 – Google Chrome became the world's most used web browser, replacing Internet Explorer.
30 October 2012 – The Wikimedia Foundation started developing Wikidata, its first new project in six years.
29 April 2013 – In developed countries smartphones sales surpassed feature phones.
2013 – Streaming media and rental kiosk services such as Netflix and Redbox forced video rental chains such as Blockbusters to close.
2014 – Transparent display screens, 3D glass pyramid holograms and curved touchscreen displays entered the market.
Medicine and biotechnology
2011 – Life extension began to be considered.
18 September 2013 – Google created Calico in order to research ways to combat aging.
23 December 2015 – The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first dengue vaccine, the Dengvaxia.
Software and legal issues
2011 – Collaborative source code sharing website GitHub became the world's most popular open source hosting site.
23 June 2011 – Oracle sued Google over the use of Java-related technology in Google's popular Android operating system. Google won the lawsuit on 26 May 2016, citing fair use.
20 January 2012 – Following an unprecedented internet protest and blackout campaign, the widely criticized Stop Online Piracy Act bill was temporarily withdrawn in the US Congress.
12 September 2012 – The controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act in the Philippines was adopted.
Space
2011 – NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons.
21 August 2011 – The United States' Space Shuttle program officially ended following its last mission, STS-135, flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.
25 May 2012 – SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft became the first private commercial spacecraft to successfully attach to the International Space Station, the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with another spacecraft.
2 August 2012 – NASA landed the Curiosity rover in Gale crater on Mars.
14 December 2013 – The Chinese Chang'e 3 landed on the Moon, the first Lunar landing in 37 years.
6 August 2014 – The Philae probe from the Rosetta spacecraft landed successfully on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
5 December 2014 – The Orion spacecraft completed its first test flight, an unmanned orbital and reentry flight.
6 March 2015 – NASA's Dawn probe entered orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet.
13 April 2015 – NASA announced that liquid water had been found on Mars.
14 July 2015 – NASA's New Horizons probe became the first spacecraft to reach Pluto, completing its main mission.
22 December 2015 – SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully landed after a launch, making it the first rocket to successfully return and perform a vertical landing.
14 March 2016 – The ESA and Roscomos launched the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.
23 March 2016 – Diwata-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Cygnus spacecraft on a supply mission.
4 July 2016 – NASA's Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
26 July 2016 – Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
24 August 2016 – Proxima Centauri b is discovered as closest exoplanet to Earth that may be habitable.
8 September 2016 – NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023.
Transport
29 June 2011 – Google developed the world's first self-driving car to be licensed for use on public roads.
31 May 2013 – Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk proposed the Hyperloop mass transit system. Multiple companies joined in the opportunity to develop the concept.
18 September 2015 – Automaker Volkswagen is alleged to have been involved in worldwide rigging of diesel emissions tests, affecting an estimated 11 million vehicles globally.
15 September 2010 – Mexico celebrated the 200th year anniversary of its Independence and 100th anniversary of its Revolution.
13 October 2010 – Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, were trapped 700 metres (2,300 feet) underground in a mining accident in San José Mine, before being rescued after surviving for a record 69 days.
29 April 2011 – A television audience of an estimated two billion people watched the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton.
6 February 2012 – Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, which marked the 60th anniversary of her accession.
13 March 2013 – Pope Francis became the first non-European Pope in over 500 years.
27 April 2014 – Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II were canonized.
27 July 2014 – Approximately 2 million members of the Iglesia ni Cristo joined the worship rites held at the Philippine Arena for its centennial celebration.
18 January 2015 – An estimated 6 to 7 million attended the Concluding Eucharistic Celebration in Manila on the Feast Day of Santo Niño de Cebú, ending the 5-day apostolic and state visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines, the largest papal crowd in history.
29 February 2016 – The remains of the late President Elpidio Quirino, the sixth president of the Philippines, are transferred from the Manila South Cemetery in Makati to the Heroes' Cemetery in Taguig to mark his 60th death anniversary.
Postmodernism and green design were common architectural themes. "Sustainable design" emphasized natural lighting, green/white roofs, better insulation and other cost-saving features. China and the Middle East led in large-scale development.
In 2010, the United Arab Emirates' Burj Khalifa became the tallest man-made structure ever built, standing at 828 m (2,717 ft).
The United States' One World Trade Center, completed in 2014, is the tallest building in North America at 1,776 ft (541 m).
In 2015 Excessivism emerged. Trends that began since earlier decades are continuing into this decade are: Pop art, Altermodern, Cynical realism, the Kitsch movement, Post-contemporary, Metamodernism, Pseudorealism, Remodernism, Renewable energy sculpture, Street art, Stuckism, Superflat, Superstroke, Urban art, Videogame art and Virtual art.
The 2010s have been defined by a revival of interwar, austerity era, 1980s (2010–13), early 1990s and skater fashions. In the early 2010s, many late 2000s fashion trends remained popular, especially the indie pop and grunge look which largely draws upon 1960s Mod clothing combined with elements of 1970s garage rock and contemporary alternative fashion.
Latin American teens and young adults, who began keeping up with general Western fashion more closely in the mid-1990s, proved to be more conservative
Hipster subculture and the "Thrift Shop" look had a considerable impact upon mainstream fashion. Full-printed T-shirts with diverse patterns (cosmic, clouds, historic architecture, and tribal) trended.
In many Western countries, the growing of a full beard became a popular trend among young males in the early-to-mid 2010s, with some suggesting this was due to the influence of the hipster subculture and the Movember campaign. Other facial hair styles such as moustaches and goatees were popular during the most part of the decade. The "undercut", a variation of a crew cut, was made a trend by rapper Macklemore in 2013. This style has been embraced by the hip-hop, hipster and punk subcultures.
Movies and television struggled to maintain their position, as online viewing grew rapidly. Piracy was a major concern for the industry. In 2012 Viacom launched a US$1 billion lawsuit against YouTube for copyright infringement. In early 2012, the United States Congress began debating the SOPA and PIPA bills that were heavily lobbied by the entertainment industry.
3D films gained popularity, led by Avatar in late-2009. In 2010, Avatar became the first film to gross more than US$2 billion. Other 3D releases were also successful. The video game and television industries also released 3D content.
Animated films in the 2010s remained predominately computer-generated. Older styles lost favor, although (2D) Anime remained popular. Traditionally animated television shows for children also remained popular. In 2010, Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to gross more than US$1 billion worldwide.
In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Director for the 2009 movie The Hurt Locker.
Superhero and science fiction films became box office leaders. In 2016, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) became the third highest-grossing film of all time.
EDM, synthpop, indie, and trap see mainstream success throughout the early to mid 2010s. R&B and hip-hop rose to prominence again in 2013 and has remained the most popular form of music since. Digital music sales in 2012 topped CD sales.
Dance and pop music surged into the 2010s, with EDM achieving mass commercial success. K-pop (and the rise in popularity of South Korea's entertainment industry due to technological advances) finally mounted into the music scene of the United States with Psy's "Gangnam Style" winning the Billboard Music Award for Top Streaming Song (Video) in 2013. In the early 2010s, dubstep and drumstep, originating in the United Kingdom, rose in popularity globally. Drumstep is continuing to grow in popularity along with drum and bass. It mirrors the electronic-leaning musical trends elsewhere, while hardstyle is becoming increasingly popular in Australia and North America, with music festivals such as Defqon 1, IQON and The sound of Q-dance.
Streaming services such as Pandora Radio and Spotify became the preferred music delivery systems.
Record of the Year Grammy Winners
Usain Bolt became the most successful sprinter in Olympic history, holding world records in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay.
Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever after winning his 22nd medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016, erasing a 108-year championship drought, defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series on 3 November 2016.
In 2012, London became the first and only city to host the Olympic Games three times.
IRB Sevens World Series expand from 8 to 10 legs, and rugby seven is part of the Olympic program in 2016.
The San Francisco Giants won three World Series titles in the first half of the decade.
The Spain national football team became the first International football team to win three consecutive major tournaments in 2012.
Jason Collins became the first active male professional athlete in a major American professional team sport to publicly come out as gay.
Early in the decade, LeBron James led the NBA, playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
Manchester City won the Premier League in 2012 becoming the first team to win it besides Manchester United and Chelsea since 2004, and the fifth team overall to win it . It's their first league title since 1968.
Atlético Madrid won the 2014 La Liga, becoming the first team besides FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to win La Liga since 2004.
Individual transfer fees in association football exceeding £50m became more common, with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester United F.C., AS Monaco and Manchester City all making at least one signing worth £50m or more. Manchester United signing of Paul Pogba in 2016 set an all-time record for highest football transfer fee at €105 million (£89.3 million) plus bonuses of €5 million.
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings collectively led the NHL in Stanley Cup wins, claiming the trophy 4 out of 5 times in the first half of the decade.
On 1 January 2015, Donnie Nietes of the Philippines, has now recognized as the longest reigning Filipino world boxing champion.
On 27 May 2015, Football's world governing body FIFA was accused of bribery totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Fourteen individuals were indicted.
In June 2015, Chile national football team won their first Copa América.
In May 2016, Real Madrid, having won their 10th UEFA Champions League title in May 2014, won their 11th championship since 1956, again beating rivals Atletico in a repeat of the 2014 final.
In May 2016, Leicester City became the sixth team to win the Premier League, becoming English league champions for the first time in their 132-year history. Having narrowly survived the threat of relegation in their first year back in the top flight after a 10-year absence the season before, they were massive outsiders at 5000-1.
On 19 June 2016, The Cleveland Cavaliers won their 1st championship in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Cavs were the first in the NBA history to make a historic comeback in pursuit of title coming down from a 1-3 series deficit.
In July 2016, Portugal national football team won their first UEFA European Championship.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was awarded his fourth Super Bowl MVP award after defeating the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl LI, overcoming a 25-point deficit, Brady currently holds the record for most MVP awards of any player in NFL history.
Cable providers saw a decline in subscriber numbers as cord cutters switched to lower cost online streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.com's Prime service. These non-cable, internet-based media streaming services even began producing their own programming.
TV sets, such as the Samsung SmartTV, started offering online streaming via television.
The American soap opera format lost popularity in favor of reality television and daytime talk shows. Long-lived but canceled shows All My Children and One Life to Live return in 2013 as online content. Prime-time television serials and Spanish-language telenovelas remain popular globally. A new development in global television is the great popularity of Turkish drama series in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama
In 2013 for the first time, the four nominees for the Best Musical Tony Award were all based on movies.
Tony Award for Best Musical
Cloud gaming, stereoscopic 3D gaming, and ongoing improvements in graphics were some of the biggest trends. Video game sales declined in the early-2010s, most likely due to the effects of the Great Recession. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, released in late-2011, made over US$775 million in one-week, matching the highest-grossing films. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a person who plays video games is 30.
The decade began dominated primarily by seventh generation consoles, such as Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and Wii. Games such as the Sims franchise and many of Blizzard's popular titles remained popular on PCs and expanded to other devices. The OnLive console was released in 2010 becoming the first massively produced cloud gaming-based gaming device. 2012 introduced the first console regarded to be in the eighth generation, the Wii U, followed in late 2013, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. They faced stiff competition from tablet and smartphones.
The Nintendo 3DS, released in early 2011 introduced a glasses-free interface for 3D. The 2D PlayStation Vita was released in 2012. The Wii introduced the sensor bar with compatible sensitive controllers, followed by the PlayStation Move and Kinect. This expanded the video game market to the elderly and those interested in physical therapy.
Game of the Year
