2020–2029

The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties" or "two thousand ndtwenties"; shortened to "the '20s" and also known as "The Twenties") is the current decade that began on 1 January 2020, and will end on 31 December 2029.

The 2020s began with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first reports of the virus were published on 31 December 2019, though the first cases are said to have appeared nearly a month earlier. The pandemic led to a global economic recession, a sustained rise in global inflation for the first time since the 1970s, and a global supply chain crisis. The World Health Organization declared the virus a global state of emergency from March 2020 to May 2023.

Several anti-government demonstrations and revolts occurred in the early 2020s, including a continuation of those in Hong Kong against extradition legislation; protests against certain local, state and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; others around the world, particularly in the United States, against racism and police brutality; one in India against agriculture and farming acts; one in Israel against judicial reforms; another in Indonesia against the omnibus law on jobs; protests and strikes in France against pension reform; political crises in Peru, Bangladesh, Armenia, and Thailand; and many in Belarus, Eswatini, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, China, Russia, Venezuela, Serbia, and Turkey against various forms of governmental jurisdiction, corruption, and authoritarianism; along with citizen riots in the United States and Brazil in an attempt to overturn election results. Among democracies in 2024, its elections saw an 80% loss of incumbent support worldwide, several losses being historic. That year, former U.S. president Donald Trump was reelected to a second, nonconsecutive term.

Ongoing military conflicts include the Myanmar civil war, the Ethiopian civil conflict, the Kivu conflict, the Mali War, the Yemeni civil war, the Somali Civil War, Sudanese civil war, the Syrian civil war, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the Gaza war. The year 2021 saw the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, ending nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The Russian invasion of Ukraine became the largest conventional military offensive in Europe since World War II, resulting in a refugee crisis, disruptions to global trade, and an exacerbation of economic inflation. In 2023, a Hamas-led attack marked the first invasion of Israel since 1948, triggering an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory. The invasion has led to the displacement of nearly all 2.3 million Gaza residents, a humanitarian crisis, a famine, and a polio epidemic, sparking global protests against Israel. In 2024, a quick and renewed rebel offensive during the Syrian civil war led to the toppling of Bashar al-Assad and the fall of the Assad regime. Smaller conflicts include the insurgency in the Maghreb, the Iraq insurgency, the conflict between India and Pakistan, and the Philippine and the Mexican drug wars.

With multiple extreme weather events magnifying in the 2020s, several world leaders have called it the "decisive decade" for climate action as ecological crises continue to escalate. In February 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes killed up to 62,000 people in Turkey and Syria; this event fell within the top five deadliest earthquakes of the 21st century.

There were breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, with American companies, universities, and research labs pioneering advances in the field. Generative AI-based applications such as ChatGPT and DALL-E have accumulated billions of users, and allow users to instantly generate complex texts, images, art, and video, comparable to the sophistication of human work. Other technological advances include the widespread use of teleconferencing, online learning, e-commerce and food delivery services to compensate for lockdowns ordered by governments around the world during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Streaming services, such as Disney+ and Max, have increased in popularity during the decade; physical media and cable television have continued to fall out of usage, with the closure of Redbox in 2024 and the discontinuation of DVDs from Target and Best Buy from 2023 to 2025. Several popular social media applications, like Threads, BeReal, Clubhouse, Bluesky, Gettr, and Truth Social, launched, continuing progress in digital technology. 5G networks launched around the globe at the start of the decade and became prevalent in smartphones. Research into outer space further progressed in the 2020s, with the United States mainly dominating space exploration, including the James Webb Space Telescope, ''Ingenuity'' helicopter, and ''Artemis'' program. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are being used for remote collaboration, meetings, and training. Contactless payments have become more widespread, offering convenient and secure payment options. Mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, which had their roots in the 2010s, have also grown in popularity. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and NFTs, have increased in popularity.

During this decade, the world population grew from 7.7 billion to over eight billion people. In 2023, India overtook China as the most populous country in the world.

Politics and wars

Major conflicts

The prominent wars of the decade include:

International wars

Image:Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 montage (1).png, Montage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, part of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Image:Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport 210821-M-AU949-0155.jpg, US Marines with SP-MAGTF-CR-CC at an evacuation checkpoint at Kabul Airport on 21 August during the 2021 Fall of Kabul, at the end of the War in Afghanistan.
Image:Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023.jpg, Highrise residential building ″Palestine Tower″ in Gaza following an Israeli strike during the Gaza war.
Image:Syrian rebels at Hama Military Airport.png, Syrian rebels at Hama Air Base during the Syrian civil war.

Civil wars

Image:Myanmar_civil_war_(2021–present)_townships_map.svg, Territorial control during Myanmar civil war (2021–present) as of early 2022.
Image:VOA Tigray Children2.jpg, A man passing by a destroyed T-72 tank in Idaga Hamus during Tigray war.
Image:Screengrab of refugee camp from Number of Refugees Who Fled Sudan for Chad Double in Week.jpg, Sudanese refugee camp in Chad during Sudanese civil war (2023).
Image:Prigozhin rebellion Rostov tank with flowers in the muzzle June 24.jpg, A tank with flowers in the muzzle in Rostov-on-Don during the Wagner Group rebellion against the Russian government.

Revolutions and major protests

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

File:Minneapolis 05-28-20 (49947863357).jpg, Protesters in Minneapolis where George Floyd was murdered and the unrest began on 26 May 2020.
File:02020 0097 (2) Protest against abortion restriction in Bielsko-Biała, November 2020.jpg, Protest against abortion restriction in Bielsko-Biała, Poland
File:2021 Myanmar Protest in Hleden.jpg, 2021 Myanmar coup d'état culminated an ongoing protests, thousands of protesters participating in an anti-junta rally in Yangon in February 2021.
File:2022 Kazakhstan protests — Aqtobe, January 4 (01).jpg, Protesters in Aktobe during a period of unrest in Kazakhstan, 4 January 2022.
File:Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka 2022.jpg, Sri Lankans protesting in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, 13 April 2022.
File:Amir Kabir University uprising September 2022 (3).jpg, Iranians protesting at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran following the death of Mahsa Amini, 20 September 2022.
File:Ataque bolsonarista ao Congresso Nacional do Brasil.png, Protesters attack the Brazilian Congress to protest and attempt to overturn the results of the 2022 Brazilian election, 8 January 2023.
File:8 march protest in Tbilisi (cropped).jpg, Pro-Western protesters and rioters during the anti-government protests in Tbilisi, Georgia
File:Warszawa - Marsz Miliona Serc (1).jpg, " March of a Million Hearts" in Warsaw, Poland
File:John Deere 6320 Saint-Etienne-de-Fontbellon manifestations agriculteurs janvier 2024.jpg, Tractors at Saint-Etienne-de-Fontbellon (France) during the EU farmers' protests.
File:7.Bangladesh quota reform movement 2024.jpg, Students launching the Bangla blockade during the Student–People's uprising, 6 July 2024.
File:2024 Venezuela protests 01.jpg, Venezuelans taking to the streets to protest the 2024 presidential election results in Caracas, 3 August 2024.
File:Hands off protest in Minnesota.jpg, A group of "Hands-Off" protestors on the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota since the George Floyd protests in 2020.
File:CA Guard and protestors, June 2025.jpg, California National Guard and protestors during June 2025 Los Angeles protests.

Terrorist attacks

''Note: To be included, entries must be notable (have a stand-alone article) and described by a consensus of reliable sources as "terrorism."''

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

Political trends

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.

Following the election of Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, the mid-2020s saw the resurgence of right-wing populism and the 1980s political model (like Trumpist ideologies of conservatism, social conservatism, and anti-communist policies).

2024 was the biggest election year in history, and a number of countries announced snap elections, such as Portugal, Senegal, the United Kingdom, France, Sri Lanka, Japan, Iceland, and Ireland. This is the first time this has ever happened since 1905 (when data was first recorded) and the first time in the history of democracy, as universal suffrage began in 1894.

Deaths

Sitting leaders that died such as Qaboos bin Said of Oman, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Amadou Gon Coulibaly of the Ivory Coast, Sheik Sabah al-Sabah of Kuwait, John Magufuli of Tanzania, Idriss Déby of Chad, Jovenel Moïse of Haiti, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait, Hage Geingob of Namibia, Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, Nguyễn Phú Trọng of Vietnam, Didier Guillaume of Monaco and Pope Francis.

Former world leaders who died such as Hosni Mubarak, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, John Turner, Daniel arap Moi, Pranab Mukherjee, Lee Teng-hui, Jorge Sampaio, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Tabaré Vazquez, Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, Benigno Aquino III, Carlos Menem, Kenneth Kaunda, F. W. de Klerk, Karolos Papoulias, Toshiki Kaifu, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Mwai Kibaki, Shinzo Abe, José Eduardo dos Santos, Luis Echeverría, Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Fidel V. Ramos, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jiang Zemin, Pope Benedict XVI, Constantine II of Greece, Pervez Musharraf, Silvio Berlusconi, Mircea Snegur, Giorgio Napolitano, Bill Hayden, Li Keqiang, Dries van Agt, Sebastián Piñera, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Brian Mulroney, Ismail Haniyeh, Alex Salmond, Manmohan Singh, Jimmy Carter, Arnold Rüütel, Costas Simitis, Horst Köhler, Thanin Kraivichien, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, José Mujica, Trần Đức Lương, Alfredo Palacio, Edgar Lungu, Suchinda Kraprayoon, Bujar Bukoshi and Violeta Chamorro.

Prominent political events

Coups

'' Coups d'état'' against ruling governments during the decade include:

Africa

Americas

File:2021 storming of the United States Capitol DSC09254-2 (50820534063) (retouched).jpg, On 6 January 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.

File:P20241113CS-0503 (cropped).jpg, The 2020s saw the U.S. presidency alternate from Donald Trump to Joe Biden in 2020, followed by Trump's successful re-election in 2024; both the oldest presidents served during the decade. Trump is the second president elected to nonconsecutive terms (following Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892).

File:Former President Donald Trump paying respect to Corey Comperatore (53887491621).jpg, Donald Trump, who survived an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania in July 2024. This image shows Donald Trump paying respect to Corey Comperatore's firefighter uniform; he lost his life in the assassination attempt.

File:Machado y González protestando contra el fraude presidencial en Venezuela de 2024.jpg, María Corina Machado and Edmundo González along with his wife, addressing supporters in Caracas following the 2024 presidential election results. Incumbent Nicolás Maduro secured a third term in an election widely criticized as neither free or fair, given the Maduro administration having controlled most institutions and repressed the political opposition before and during the election.

File:Jimmy Carter lay-in state at U.S. Capitol.jpg, Former US president Jimmy Carter lay in repose at the U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C. He was the longest-lived U.S. president in history and the first president to reach the age of 100.

File:Starmer and Carney 2025-03-17-18-44.jpg, Mark Carney became Prime Minister of Canada, after he won a landslide victory at the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election and re-elected at the federal election, since Justin Trudeau resigned after nine years of premiership.

Asia

File:Imran Khan and 2 Chief Ministers of Pakistan.jpg, Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was arrested twice during the political unrest, and PTI-led independents were lost the 2024 election.

File:Shigeru Ishiba was designated as the 102nd Prime Minister 4.jpg, Shigeru Ishiba is elected as Prime Minister of Japan by the National Diet, succeed Fumio Kishida and reelected in October 2024 following the election.

File:2024년 대한민국 계엄 반대 시위대 깃발.jpg, Protests erupted during the 2024–2025 South Korean political crisis on 3 December 2024.

File:Duterte and Medialdea flying to The Hague in 2025.jpg, Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by several organizations under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant charging him with crimes against humanity and abuse of power related to the Philippine drug war and 2024 South Korean martial law crisis, declaration of martial law are the "act of terrorism".

File:The Inauguration Ceremony of the 21th President of Republic of Korea (54566787254).jpg, Lee Jae-myung becomes President of South Korea following the victory at the 2025 South Korean presidential election, snap election since 2017.

File:Oyane-ring southeast.jpg, Anti-government protests disrupted the Expo 2025 in Osaka since the assassination of Shinzo Abe three years earlier.

Europe

File:Suomen ja Ruotsin suurlähettiläät jättävät kiinnostuksenosoituksensa Natoon liittymisestä - 52082038874.jpg, Finnish and Swedish ambassadors submit their applications to join NATO to then-secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

File:20220908-Buckingham Palace Elizabeth II death reactions (07).jpg, Crowds at Buckingham Palace following the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, shortly after the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Platinum Jubilee celebration which marked the 70th anniversary of her accession.

File:Ratzinger funeral (09).jpg, Crowds at St. Peter's Square following the death and funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

File:Waving from Buckingham Palace Balcony (52877352018) (cropped).jpg, King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their Coronation of Charles III and Camilla, coronation in 2023.

File:Securing Our Future (EC pic) 2025-03-02-15-13.jpg, NATO leaders and participants at the 2025 London Summit on Ukraine.

File:Procesija, pok. papa Franjo (5).jpg, Crowds at Domus Sanctae Marthae following the death and funeral of Pope Francis after 12 years of papacy, marked the 20th anniversary of death and funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005.

Oceania

World leaders

Assassinations and attempts

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

Disasters

Non-natural disasters

Aviation

General

Natural disasters

Earthquakes and tsunamis

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

Tropical cyclones

Tornadoes

Floods, avalanches, and mudslides

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

Volcanic eruptions

Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires

Pollution

Other natural events

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

Economics

The 2020s were marked economic troubles, beginning from the COVID-19 recession was a major global economic crisis which has caused both a recession in some nations, and in others a Depression (economic), depression. It is currently the worst global economic crisis in history, surpassing the impact of the Great Depression. The economic crisis began due to the Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first major sign of a recession was the collapse of markets during the 2020 stock market crash, which began in late February and lasted through March.

A worldwide increase in 2021–2023 inflation surge, inflation began in mid-2021, with many countries seeing their highest inflation rates in decades. It has been attributed to various causes, including List of COVID-19 pandemic legislation, pandemic-related economic dislocation; the Fiscal policy, fiscal and monetary Stimulus (economics), stimulus provided in 2020 and 2021 by governments and central banks around the world in response to the pandemic were also instrumental.

US President Donald Trump announced 2 April 2025 to be "Liberation Day tariffs, liberation day", beginning to enforce tariffs on numerous nations in the following week. This triggered an ongoing Trade war, economic trade war as well as the 2025 stock market crash. It is currently the largest decline in the global stock market since the 2020 stock market crash, which was part of a recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade

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

Cybersecurity and hacking

Health

Epidemics/Outbreaks

Pandemics

Science and technology

Spaceflight

The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. Vulcan Centaur, Vulcan is replacing its more expensive predecessors. Since 2023, SpaceX is testing its fully reusable SpaceX Starship, Starship with orbital missions. In 2024, Blue Origin plans the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage and Ariane 6 is expected to replace the retired more expensive Ariane 5.

Mars stays a focus for missions to other planets, with three missions launched in 2020 (by China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and at least one mission planned for EscaPADE, 2024, Martian Moons eXploration, 2026 and Rosalind Franklin (rover), 2028.

In 2028, as part of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission, NASA plans to launch a Sample Retrieval Lander. In 2027, ESA plans to launch the Earth Return Orbiter, which will transport the retrieved samples from Mars to Earth by 2033. China is also planning to Mars sample-return mission#China, retrieve samples from Mars by 2031.

NASA plans a return of humans to the Moon by 2025. The Artemis 1, first uncrewed launch of the Space Launch System happened in 2022. Artemis 2, The first crewed launch is planned for September 2025. In addition NASA plans to assemble the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit. A crewed exploration of Mars could follow in the mid 2030s. SpaceX, a private company, has also announced plans to land humans on Mars in the 2020s, with the long-term goal of enabling the colonization of Mars.

India plans to launch its first crewed flight with a spacecraft called ''Gaganyaan'' on a home-grown GSLV Mark III rocket in 2025. The mission would make India the fourth nation to launch a crewed spaceflight after Russia, the US and China. India also plans to launch its second Mars probe, Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (''Mangalyaan 2'').

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021. NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will have a field of view 100 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, between October 2026 and May 2027.

NASA's NEO Surveyor, scheduled to launch no later than June 2028, is expected to be capable of detecting at least 90% of near-Earth objects larger than , a goal mandated by the US Congress in 2005.

The number of small satellites launched annually was expected to grow to around one thousand (2018 estimate), mainly Satellite constellation#Communications satellite constellations, communication satellites in large constellations but launches quickly exceeded this estimate, mainly due to the rapid deployment of the Starlink and OneWeb constellations. From 2020 to 2022, around 3500 Starlink satellites and 500 satellites by OneWeb were launched.

The number of total satellites reached 10,000 for the first time in 2024.

Artificial intelligence

The AI boom is an ongoing period of rapid Progress in artificial intelligence, progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that started in the late 2010s before gaining international prominence in late 2022 with the public release of ChatGPT and DeepSeek in early 2025. Examples include large language models and generative AI applications developed by OpenAI as well as Protein structure prediction, protein folding prediction led by Google DeepMind. This period is sometimes referred to as an AI spring, to contrast it with previous AI winters.

* DeepMind solves the protein folding problem to 90 percent accuracy, a 50-year-old grand challenge, at CASP14 in 2020.
* Artificial intelligence art#Text-to-image models, Text-to-image AI art systems such as DALL-E (1, 2, and 3) and Stable Diffusion are capable of generating highly detailed and realistic images from text prompts.
* Large language models, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude (language model), Claude and Meta Platforms, Meta's Llama (language model), Llama became widely adopted in 2023 and 2024.
* In early 2024, OpenAI released a new technology called Sora (text-to-video model), a video model Generative artificial intelligence, generates short video clips based on user Prompt engineering, prompts, and can also extend existing short videos. Sora was released publicly for ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro users in December 2024. This has revolutionized the video industry, since this machine generates videos in shorter time, leading to more companies adopting AI videos, with Coca-Cola Christmas commercial being the first one to do so.

Communications and electronics

* 5G became increasingly widespread during the decade.
* 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 on Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) ended on 15 June 2022.
* ESU support for Windows 7 and extended support for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT ended on 10 January 2023. Some versions of Windows 10, such as Windows 10 2106 LTSB are already out of ''mainstream'' support, some versions are out of all support, and others soon on, i.e. October 14, 2025, while some Enterprise versions will be supported longer.

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 has grown significantly and this is expected to continue through the decade.
* Non-fungible token, NFTs as a form of digital art emerged in the 2020s, with NFTs such as Everydays: the First 5000 Days. The NFT market experienced rapid growth during 2020, with its value tripling to million. In the first three months of 2021, more than million were spent on NFTs, and in the early months of 2021, interest in NFTs increased after a number of high-profile sales and art auctions.

Society

Social effects 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 would be Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology#Telecommunications, 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 COVID-19 pandemic, mental health during the crisis. Social isolation among Alcohol drink, 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 jobs deemed essential during the crisis, such as supermarkets and elder care. 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 in the United States, 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. Midlife crisis is a major concern in domestic violence, social implications and suicides for middle-aged adults amid the pandemic. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a domestic violence and midlife crisis "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.
* India surpassed China and became the most-populous country in April 2023.

Gender

24.3% of all national parliamentarians were women as of February 2019. 11 women were serving as List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, 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 (president of Greece, Greece), Samia Suluhu Hassan (President of Tanzania, Tanzania), Sandra Mason (President of Barbados, Barbados), Xiomara Castro (President of Honduras, Honduras), Katalin Novák (President of Hungary, Hungary), Dina Boluarte (President of Peru, Peru), Nataša Pirc Musar (President of Slovenia, Slovenia), Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (President of North Macedonia, North Macedonia) and Prime Ministers Rose Christiane Raponda (Prime Minister of Gabon, Gabon), Victoire Tomegah Dogbé (List of prime ministers of Togo, Togo), Kaja Kallas (Prime Minister of Estonia, Estonia), Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (Prime Minister of Samoa, Samoa), Robinah Nabbanja (Prime Minister of Uganda, Uganda), Najla Bouden (Prime Minister of Tunisia, Tunisia), Magdalena Andersson (Prime Minister of Sweden, Sweden), Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister of Italy, Italy), Judith Suminwa (President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC), and Chairwoman Borjana Krišto (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Environmentalism

* Team Seas is an international collaborative fundraiser founded by YouTubers 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.
* Members of the United Nations agree on a legal framework for the High Seas Treaty on 4 March 2023, which aims to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.

LGBT rights

* A law allowing third gender option on driver licenses took effect in LGBT rights in New Hampshire, New Hampshire.
* LGBT rights in Switzerland, 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 LGBT rights in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, the first same-sex marriage took place after legalizing legislation took effect in January 2020.

* In LGBT rights in Costa Rica, 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 Bostock v. Clayton County, ruled that job discrimination against workers for their sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal.
* The Equality Act (United States), Equality Act passed the United States House of Representatives on 25 February 2021.
* In LGBT rights in Argentina, Argentina, nonbinary ID cards with an "X" gender marker started to be issued by the Ministry of the Interior (Argentina), Ministry of the Interior.
* The United States Department of State, 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 LGBT rights in Switzerland, legal in Switzerland after a 2021 Swiss same-sex marriage referendum, 2021 referendum, enforced beginning in July 2022.
* In LGBT rights in Chile, Chile, same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples became legal on 10 March 2022.
* Same-sex marriage became LGBT rights in Slovenia, legal in Slovenia on 8 July 2022 after the Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled that the ban on same-sex marriages violated the Constitution of Slovenia, national constitution.
* Same-sex marriage became LGBT rights in Cuba, legal in Cuba on 27 September 2022 after the 2022 Cuban Family Code referendum, Cuban Family Code referendum passed.
* By October 2022, Mexico City and all Mexican states had Same-sex marriage in Mexico, legalized same-sex marriage, either by legislation, executive action, or Supreme Court order.
* On 1 January 2024, Same-sex marriage in Estonia, same-sex marriage became legal in Estonia.

Global goals and issues

Development in List of global issues, global goals and issues—including goals or progress related to the List of causes of death by rate, 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 issue, global climate change mitigation goals
** The United in Science 2022 report by the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Executive summary, 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 ''The Lancet, 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 emissions, 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 Climate change mitigation#Monitoring, 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 Non-communicable disease#Global health, other diseases if they don't increase their physical activity.
* Global budgets and government spending
** The OECD and International Energy Agency, IEA report that global public Fossil fuel subsidies, 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 humankind, humanity, addressing rising inequality is key to mitigating related issues such as climate change with many current policy, policies disproportionately burdening lower income groups. (208 pages)
* 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".
* Gross domestic product, 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

File:PS5Digitalprerefined.jpg, The ninth generation of video game consoles, like PlayStation 5 (pictured) and Xbox Series X, were both released in 2020. Games for PlayStation 5 such as ''EA Sports FC 24, FC 24'', ''The Matrix Awakens'', and ''Overwatch 2'' used HyperMotion and Unreal Engine 5 to display more realistic graphics. ''Grand Theft Auto VI'' is planned for release on ninth generation consoles in 2026.
File:TikTok exhibition stand at Gamescom 2022 in Cologne, Germany (52760217055).jpg, The video-sharing site TikTok became a major influence on pop culture and the music industry in the early 2020s. Short-form videos have increased in viewership through TikTok, Instagram#Reels, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts during the decade. TikTok was Restrictions on TikTok in the United States, temporarily banned in the United States in 2025, due to national security concerns.
File:Karine Jean-Pierre is joined by the cast of Ted Lasso for a press briefing (52834074267).jpg, During COVID-19 and the Streaming media#Streaming wars, streaming wars, multiple TV shows and films released on Streaming media, internet streaming services instead of theaters. ''Squid Game'' was a global success as a result of the streaming wars that began in the early 2020s, involving many new streaming services. Services such as Apple TV+, Max, and Paramount+ were popular. Pictured above is the cast of Apple TV+'s ''Ted Lasso''.
File:Airpods and Airpods Pro being displayed in electronics retail store.jpg, AirPods have dominated the wireless headphone market in the early 2020s. Pictured are the base and "Pro" model of AirPods respectively. AirPods allow users to be several feet away from their device via Bluetooth, a technology not seen in wired earbuds of previous decades.
File:ALTer EGO 1 18 2020 (50740816801).jpg, 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 2000s in fashion#Y2K fashion, Y2K fashion trends.
File:Food delivery robots in Espoo.jpg, In the 2020s, multiple online food delivery services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, and Just Eat Takeaway became popular, becoming popular during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Food delivery robots also became popular in the 2020s and were finally to the point they could be used to deliver food around larger areas such as college campuses.
File:The Weeknd Portrait by Brian Ziff.jpg, Canadian singer the Weeknd was the first artist of the decade to achieve a List of Billboard Year-End number-one singles and albums, ''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.
File:President Joe Biden and Olivia Rodrigo.jpg, Olivia Rodrigo released singles like "Deja Vu (Olivia Rodrigo song), Deja Vu" and "Good 4 U", and her debut studio album, ''Sour (album), Sour'', in 2021. ''Sour'' was met with critical and commercial success, winning various accolades including three Grammy Awards.
File:Crypto.com arena drone shot early 2023.jpg, 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. Non-fungible token, NFTs as a form of digital art emerged in the 2020s, with NFTs such as ''Everydays: the First 5000 Days''.
File:Galaxy Z series.jpg, 5G was introduced in smartphones during the early part of the decade, with the Samsung Galaxy Flip and iPhone 13 smartphones having 5G capabilities. Foldable smartphones also became more popular, although concern grew about the durability of foldable smartphones, as some foldable smartphones have become crinkled / will crease over time. As well, some foldable smartphones break more easily.
File:AI protest image 3.jpg, Advancements in Artificial intelligence, AI have been rapid and fast-paced in the 2020s. Generative artificial intelligence, Generative AIs has become mainstream during the decade, with synthetic media in the form of Text-to-image models, DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and Audio deepfakes. AI techniques have now been used in music, including the Beatles' last song "Now and Then (Beatles song), Now and Then" (2023). Additionally, AI has been used for video creation, such as with Sora (text-to-video model), Sora.
File:Ambassador Burns speaks to a woman in front of a robot.jpg, The Fourth Industrial Revolution in the 2020s is referred to as industrial change with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, AI, CRISPR gene editing, gene editing, and Robotics, advanced robotics that blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Automation also continues to take over human jobs. Above is a photo of a Tesla Bot, which Tesla, Inc. hopes to begin selling by 2027.
File:Seattle - Lime Bike - 01.jpg, Renewable energy sources such as electric vehicles as well as solar- and wind-powered devices to combat global warming became popular during the 2020s. Scooter-sharing systems have become common in the street scene of the 2020s (especially in downtown areas), with Lime (transportation company), Lime becoming popular.
File:French Hill hosts AR teachers on zoom call.jpg, The early 2020s started with a rise in videoconferencing due to the pandemic, while many educational institutions and workplaces shifted to distance education, distance learning and remote work during and after the pandemic. Large-scale video conferencing became a reality and more common during the 2020s.
File:Cosplay of Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado from Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba at FanimeCon 2023 (53056120458).jpg, Popular Japanese media franchises such as ''Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'', ''Chainsaw Man'', ''Lycoris Recoil'', ''Jujutsu Kaisen'', ''Oshi no Ko'', ''Frieren'', ''Attack on Titan'', ''Spy × Family'', ''Dr. Stone'', ''One Piece'', ''Blue Lock'', and ''Mashle'' reaching large international audiences and fans used for crossover works during the Reiwa era.
File:Épreuve Athlétisme Jeux Olympiques 2024 Stade France - Saint-Denis (FR93) - 2024-08-02 - 138.jpg, Summer Olympic Games of the 2020s include 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris in 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles in 2028, as well as 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo 2020 in 2021 (the first ever Olympic games to be delayed, taking place in 2021 instead of 2020). Winter Olympic Games of the decade included the Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics, controversial 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing in 2022, as well as 2026 Winter Olympics, Milan-Cortina in 2026.
File:Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Japan).png, The 2020s was a more profitable era for movies based on video games. ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' released in 2023 and surpassed $1 billion, and Nintendo plans to open a group of international theme parks called Super Nintendo World and a Nintendo Museum between 2021 and 2025.
File:AR- Apple Vision Pro (2023).png, Apple Vision Pro, which was released in 2024, marks an advancement in spatial computing and mixed reality headsets. The device intends to merge physical and digital environments, overlaying computer graphics on each individual user's real-world environments.
File:Monkey in the Matrix (52536941713).jpg, During the 2020s, the idea of brain implants existed in an early, limited form. The company Neuralink and a research group demonstrated the ability for a monkey to move a computer cursor with neural signals, typing coherent sentences.
File:Cloud Logo.png, Cloud computing has surged in popularity following and during the global pandemic of 2020. Cloud computing allows for data to be stored in data centers and looked up on any device, rather than the photos, notes, etc. of a device being restricted to just that device.
File:Sustainable Development Goals.svg, The Sustainable Development Goals promotes seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future". Pictured above is a diagram listing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are intended to be completed by the end of the 2020s.
File:Meta Headquarters Sign.jpg, Social media rebranding occurred during the 2020s, with Facebook, Inc. and Twitter changed its name to Meta Platforms and Twitter, X (though many people continue to call it Twitter). New social platforms such as Threads and Bluesky also launched.
File:Pulloon kiinnitetty pullonkorkki 4.JPG, A new European Union law, EU law, which came into force in 2024, obliges plastic bottles to have caps attached to reduce plastic waste caused by the lid.

Fashion

The fashion of the early 2020s was characterized by a variety of styles and influences from different eras. During this period, the trend towards individuality and self-expression in clothing continued. Young Millennials & Generation Z has witnessed a notable resurgence of fashion styles from the late 1980s in fashion, 1980s, 1990s in fashion, 1990s, and 2000s in fashion, 2000s in the fashion industry. A prominent example of this is the revival of trends such as crop tops, baggy jeans, and elements from the 2000s in fashion#Y2K fashion, Y2K aesthetic.

Sustainable fashion practices gained significance, with an increased awareness of environmentally friendly materials and production processes. Influences from social media culture were also unmistakable, as influencers and celebrities exerted a strong influence on fashion trends. The popularity of online platforms like Instagram and TikTok contributed to the rapid spread of trends, while simultaneously allowing niche styles and subcultures to flourish.

Film

The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted film releases especially 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 media, streaming services. ''Avatar: The Way of Water'' is the highest-grossing film of the decade so far, and currently the List of highest-grossing films, third-highest-grossing film of all time. Other financially successful films at the box office include ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Dune (2021 film), Dune'' and its sequel ''Dune: Part Two'', and ''Wicked (2024 film), Wicked''. Superhero films mostly continued to do well financially, such as most successes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, continuing with its "List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films#The Multiverse Saga, Multiverse Saga" (accompanied with a List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series#Marvel Studios series, series of shows and specials created exclusively on Disney+ which interconnect with the films).

In 2023, the films ''Barbie (film), Barbie'' and ''Oppenheimer (film), Oppenheimer'' were both released on the same day, which led to the creation of the double feature phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer". Both films became critically and commercially successful.

Critically successful films nominated for awards include ''Nomadland'', ''CODA (2021 film), CODA'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Hundreds of Beavers'', ''Licorice Pizza'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Killers of the Flower Moon (film), Killers of the Flower Moon'', ''Past Lives (film), Past Lives'', ''Elvis (2022 film), Elvis'', ''Belfast (film), Belfast'', ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'', ''Poor Things (film), Poor Things'', ''Anora'', ''The Substance'', ''RRR'', ''The Brutalist'', ''All Quiet on the Western Front (2022 film), All Quiet on the Western Front'', ''A Complete Unknown'' and ''Anatomy of a Fall''.

Critically successful animated films include ''Wolfwalkers'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'', ''The Sea Beast (2022 film), The Sea Beast'', ''Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021 film), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On'', ''Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio'', ''Nimona (film), Nimona'', ''Soul (2020 film), Soul'', ''Robot Dreams (film), Robot Dreams'', ''The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (film), The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse'', ''Encanto'', ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'', ''Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'', ''Memoir of a Snail'', ''Flow (2024 film), Flow'', ''Flee (film), Flee'', ''Once Upon a Studio'' (which was made to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary), ''Ne Zha 2'', ''Chicken for Linda!'', ''The Mitchells vs. The Machines'', ''The Boy and the Heron'' and ''The Wild Robot''.

Television

The 2020s started off with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Max, Showtime (TV network), Showtime, Crunchyroll, Hayu (streaming service), Hayu, Hulu, Peacock (streaming service), Peacock, DAZN, and Disney+. Ad-supported streaming televisions such as Pluto TV and YouTube TV also became more popular.

During a live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, audiences across the auditorium and at home watched in shock as actor and musician Will Smith, who was nominated for, and won, Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor that evening for his performance in the biographical film ''King Richard (film), King Richard'', Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident, slapped comedian and actor Chris Rock, who was presenting Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Feature, across the face after making a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Following that ceremony's incident, after receiving his Oscar, Smith was suspended from the Academy for ten years.

Billions of people watched the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II in 2022 and the 2024 Summer Olympics coverage in Paris speculated to be the most watched special television events in history.

Animated

Japanese anime continued to rise in global popularity and appeal during the decade, with works such as ''Jujutsu Kaisen (TV series), Jujutsu Kaisen'', ''Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (TV series), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'', ''Chainsaw Man (TV series), Chainsaw Man'', ''Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'', ''Oshi no Ko'', ''Spy × Family (TV series), Spy × Family'', ''Delicious in Dungeon'', ''Frieren'', ''Dandadan'', ''Solo Leveling'', ''Suzume'', ''The Boy and the Heron'', ''Vinland Saga (TV series), Vinland Saga'', ''Kaiju No. 8'', ''Attack on Titan (TV series), Attack on Titan'', and ''One Piece (1999 TV series), One Piece'' reaching large international audiences.

New and critically acclaimed teen and adult animated shows like ''Midnight Gospel'', ''Harley Quinn (TV series), Harley Quinn'', ''Hazbin Hotel'', ''Primal (TV series), Primal'', ''Love, Death & Robots'', ''Blood of Zeus'', ''Invincible (TV series), Invincible'', ''Arcane (TV series), Arcane'', ''Devil May Cry (TV series), Devil May Cry'' and ''Smiling Friends'' launched in the 2020s, along with other animated shows such as ''Hilda (TV series), Hilda'', ''Bluey (TV series), Bluey'', ''Craig of the Creek'', ''Amphibia (TV series), Amphibia'', ''Star Wars: Visions'', and ''The Owl House''.

Live-action

A variety of shows on streaming services such as ''Squid Game'', ''Severance (TV series), Severance'', ''Never Have I Ever (TV series), Never Have I Ever'', ''Tulsa King'', ''Ted Lasso'', ''Beef (TV series), Beef'', ''The Boys (TV series), The Boys'', ''Extraordinary Attorney Woo'', ''Only Murders in the Building'', ''Wednesday (TV series), Wednesday'', ''The Sex Lives of College Girls'', ''Euphoria (American TV series), Euphoria'', ''Abbott Elementary'', ''The Bear (TV series), The Bear'', ''The Pitt'', ''Shōgun (2024 TV series), Shōgun'', ''The Witcher (TV series), The Witcher'', ''The White Lotus'', ''Alice in Borderland (TV series), Alice in Borderland'', ''Hacks (TV series), Hacks'', ''The Diplomat (American TV series), The Diplomat'', ''Yellowstone (American TV series), Yellowstone'', ''The Last of Us (TV series), The Last of Us'', ''Succession (TV series), Succession'', ''Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'', and ''Tiger King'' gained popularity. Many different shows on many different competing streaming services resulted in what has been called the "streaming wars" of the early 2020s. Miniseries also gained popularity such as ''The Queen's Gambit (miniseries), The Queen's Gambit'', ''Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story'', ''Daisy Jones & the Six'', ''Beef (TV series), Beef'', ''Mr Bates vs The Post Office'', ''Mrs. America (miniseries), Mrs. America'', ''Mare of Easttown'', and ''Pam & Tommy''.

Also released in the 2020s, the reality game show ''The Traitors'' achieved popularity and became a global success.

Several TV shows based on films include: ''American Gigolo (TV series), American Gigolo'', ''The Penguin (TV series), The Penguin'', List of Star Wars television series, live-action ''Star Wars'' series (such as ''The Mandalorian'', ''Ahsoka (TV series), Ahsoka'', and ''Andor (TV series), Andor''), ''Peacemaker (TV series), Peacemaker'', ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024 TV series), Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', and ''Ted (TV series), Ted''.

Music

By 2020, TikTok, an Online video platform, online video service, had become extremely popular as a music platform on social media. Users on streaming platforms such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, and Apple Music have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Festivals such as Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella were cancelled because of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the touring business.

Pop music, Pop, hip-hop, rock music including pop punk and shoegaze, Eurodance, indie music, indies, K-pop and Contemporary R&B, R&B, Trance music, trance, and synth-pop all dominated the early part of the decade, with the most popular artists being Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Drake (musician), Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Charli XCX, the Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Playboi Carti, Morgan Wallen, Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, and more. The early 20s also saw the one-off return of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones with a new Now and Then (Beatles song), song and Hackney Diamonds, album, respectively, which topped out the charts immediately upon release. 2022 saw a revival in Kate Bush's song, Running Up That Hill, due to its appearance in the show ''Stranger Things''.. Starting around 2023, country music has seen a rise in popularity with artists such as Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen topping the charts along with artists such as Beyoncé and Post Malone releasing country albums.

Video games

The History of video game consoles#Ninth generation (2020–present), ninth generation of consoles began in 2020. The industry remains dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft with the release of the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5, while the Nintendo Switch continues to be popular from the previous decade. Technological advancements in consoles included support for real-time Ray tracing (graphics), ray tracing graphics and output for 4K resolution, 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 Corporation, Valve's attempt to bring Personal computer, PC-level gaming to a Nintendo Switch-style handheld format.

During the decade PC game, PC gaming would continue growing rapidly with the console gaming market remaining more stagnant. The growing majority of video game developers would also primarily focus on developing their projects for PC.

Critically successful games such as ''Elden Ring'', ''Ghost of Tsushima'', ''God of War Ragnarök'', ''Baldur's Gate 3'', ''Black Myth: Wukong'', ''Astro Bot'', and ''The Last of Us Part II'' were released and won multiple List of Game of the Year awards, best game of the year awards, signaling a shift towards narrative-driven and Single-player video game, single-played focused gaming compared with the end of the 2010s in video games, 2010s where popularity of multiplayer gaming dominated. Nonetheless, widely successful multiplayer games includes ''Call of Duty: Warzone'', ''Fall Guys'', ''Fate/Grand Order'', ''Fortnite'', ''Genshin Impact'', ''Honkai: Star Rail'', ''It Takes Two (video game), It Takes Two'', ''Uma Musume Pretty Derby'', ''Minecraft'', ''Roblox'', ''Dead by Daylight'', ''Overwatch 2'', ''League of Legends'', and ''Valorant''. 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.

Architecture

There is a revival in expressionist architecture. The SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome were completed in September 2020 and August 2024, there are a component of Hollywood Park Racetrack, Hollywood Park, a master-planned neighborhood in development in Inglewood, California. The venue serves as a home to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Rams, Rams, and the Los Angeles Chargers, Chargers. Both they hosted the Super Bowl LVI in February 2022, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in February 2026, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June 2026. The stadium and arena is also set to host the opening and closing ceremonies, aquatic events (swimming and diving), and basketball events for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.

The developments in Port Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria of the West Gate Tunnel continued from 2020, which is designed to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, it is expected to be completed in 2025.

The Unity Tower in Kraków 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.

Several developments in Saudi Arabia to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030, such as the 2034 FIFA World Cup stadiums, Qiddiya, Neom's The Line, Saudi Arabia, The Line, Jeddah Tower, Roshn, and Riyadh's Expo 2030 site.

The Grand Ring was built and designed by the Japanese firms Tohata Architects and Azusa Sekkei, the building became the symbol of the famous Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. It was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest architectural structure (certified area: 61,035.55 m²).

Sports

Since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted major sporting events led to the postponement and cancellations in the early-2020s, technological advances growing popularity throughout the decade like digital live broadcasts from the successful 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Association football, Football, horse racing, basketball, Sport of athletics, athletics, tennis, volleyball, baseball, and cricket became more popular for digital audiences during the decade.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation or rescheduling of numerous sporting events globally. The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics, Paralympics in Tokyo were postponed to July–August 2021. This was the first Olympic Games to be postponed rather than cancelled in history since World War II.

Zimbabwean sports administrator and politician Kirsty Coventry became the first woman, the first multicultural, and the first African President of the International Olympic Committee, following the resignation of Thomas Bach. She is also the second youngest person and second Olympic medallist to be elected to the position since Pierre de Coubertin and Thomas Bach, her achievements are focused on feminism and gender equality in sports.

New sports for the Summer Olympic Games in the 2020s, such as cricket (2028), dancesport (breakdancing, 2024), flag football (2028), karate (2020), lacrosse (2028), roller sports (inline skating, roller skating, and skateboarding, since 2020), sport climbing (since 2020), squash (sport), squash (2028), surfing (since 2020) for the youth athletes towards audiences. Both cricket and lacrosse were previously appeared in 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 and 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908.

Football

Football's popularity has continued global dominance, while also undergoing significant shifts due to various factors, Argentina national football team, Argentina and Spain women's national football team, Spain won the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup by defeating France national football team, France and England women's national football team, England, with Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmatí winning the FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, Golden Balls, while Hinata Miyazawa and Kylian Mbappé winning the FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Boot, Golden Boots.

Baseball

Baseball has been a notable resurgence, particularly within its traditional strongholds, Japan defeated the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship by a score of 3–2, winning their 3rd title in the event. Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani was named the MVP of the tournament. He became the first player in MLB history to record 40–40 club#50–50 season, 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season and was unanimously named the 2024 National League (baseball), National League MVP, and he won the 2024 World Series in his first MLB postseason appearance rivaled with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Yankees.

Mike Forêt and Shohei Otani were met President of France, French president Emmanuel Macron and President of the United States, US president Donald Trump became more popular at the Élysée Palace and the White House in April 2025.

Basketball

Basketball has been characterized significant global growth and dominance in strong youth engagement, the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, 2023 FIBA World Cup followed by Germany men's national basketball team, Germany won by defeating Serbia men's national basketball team, Serbia.

LeBron James, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, scored his 38,388th career point in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, all-time leading scorer in NBA history.

Food

Food delivery apps such as Deliveroo, DoorDash, Instacart, Menulog, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Bolt Food, Wolt, and Just Eat Takeaway became more popular since 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.

Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, COVID-19 restrictions, Online grocer, online grocery shopping has substantially grown and in the first few months of the pandemic, online grocery shopping increased by 300%. Before the pandemic occurred, food shopping activity accounted for 9% of the market, now 63% of consumers worldwide have purchased more groceries online after the outbreak than they did before they were socially isolated.

Literature

Books published throughout the decade include ''The Vanishing Half'', ''Leave the World Behind'', ''Transcendent Kingdom'', ''I'm Glad My Mom Died'', ''All the Knowledge in the World, All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia'' by Simon Garfield, ''The Glass Hotel'', ''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, ''It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism'' by Bernie Sanders, ''Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting'', and ''The Candy House (novel), The Candy House'', and the Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey.

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

Japanese manga would continue dominating the comic book industry throughout the decade.

See also

* List of decades, centuries, and millennia, List of decades
* 2020s in political history
* Millennials
* Generation Z (the decade when the majority of the first "Post-Millennial Generation" enters adulthood).
* Generation Alpha (the children and teenagers of the decade).

Timeline

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

References

External links

{{portal bar, Modern history, 2020s

2020s,
21st century
Contemporary history, 2020s