2010s
{{Short description|Decade of the Gregorian calendar (2010–2019)}}
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The 2010s (pronounced "twenty-tens" or "two thousand [and] tens"; shortened to "the '10s" and also known as "The Tens" or "The Teens") was a decade that began on 1 January 2010, and ended on 31 December 2019.
The decade began with an economic recovery from the Great Recession. Inflation and interest rates stayed low and steady throughout the decade, gross world product grew from 2010 to 2019. Global economic recovery accelerated during the latter half of the decade, fueled by strong economic growth in many countries, robust consumer spending, increased investment in infrastructure, and the emergence of new technologies. However, the recovery developed unevenly. Socioeconomic crises in some countries—particularly in the Arab world—triggered political revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain as well as civil wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen in a regional phenomenon that was commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Meanwhile, Europe had to grapple with a debt crisis that was pronounced early in the decade. Shifting social attitudes saw LGBT rights make substantial progress throughout the decade, particularly in developed countries.
The decade saw the musical and cultural dominance of dance-pop, electronic dance music, hipster culture and electropop. Globalization and an increased demand for variety and personalisation in the face of music streaming services such as Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music created many musical subgenres. As the decade progressed, diversity was also seen with the mainstream success of K-pop, Latin music and trap. Superhero films became box office leaders, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.{{Refn|Avatar (2009) later surpassed Avengers: Endgame as the highest-grossing film of all time following a 2021 re-release in China.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/avatar-overtakes-avengers-endgame-highest-grossing-film-all-time-worldwide-box-office-china-james-cameron-disney-1234713788/ |title='Avatar' Overtakes 'Avengers: Endgame' As All-Time Highest-Grossing Film Worldwide; Rises To $2.8B Amid China Reissue – Update |date=March 13, 2021 |first=Nancy |last=Tartaglione |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313180044/https://deadline.com/2021/03/avatar-overtakes-avengers-endgame-highest-grossing-film-all-time-worldwide-box-office-china-james-cameron-disney-1234713788/ |url-status=live}}|group=note}} Cable providers saw a decline in subscribers as cord cutters switched to lower cost online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Disney+. The video game industry continued to be dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft; while indie games became more popular, with Minecraft becoming the best-selling game of all time. Handheld console gaming revenue was overtaken by mobile gaming revenue in 2011. The best-selling book of this decade was Fifty Shades of Grey. Drake was named the top music artist of the decade in the U.S. by Billboard.{{Refn|Billboard awards are based on album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social engagement.{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/about/ |access-date=2022-02-21 |website=Billboard Music Awards |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404174535/https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/about/ |url-status=live}}|group=note|name=billboard}}
The United States continued to retain its superpower status while China sought to expand its influence in the South China Sea and in Africa through its economic initiatives and military reforms. It solidified its position as an emerging superpower, despite causing a series of conflicts around its frontiers. Within its border, China enhanced its suppression and control of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet. These developments led the United States to implement a containment policy and initiate a trade war against China. Elsewhere in Asia, the Koreas improved their relations after a prolonged crisis between the two countries, and the War on Terror continued as a part of the U.S.'s continued military involvement in many parts of the world. The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremist organization in 2014 erased the Syria-Iraq border, resulting in a multinational intervention against it. In Africa, South Sudan broke away from Sudan, and mass protests and various coups d'état saw longtime strongmen deposed. In the U.S., celebrity businessman Donald Trump was elected president amid an international wave of populism and neo-nationalism. The European Union experienced a migrant crisis in the middle of the decade and withdrawal of the United Kingdom as a member state following the historic United Kingdom EU membership referendum. Russia attempted to assert itself in international affairs, annexing Crimea in 2014. In the last months of the decade, the first cases of the Coronavirus pandemic of Sars-Cov2 emerged in Wuhan, China, before affecting the rest of the world.{{Cite journal |last=Pagani |first=Isabel |last2=Ghezzi |first2=Silvia |last3=Alberti |first3=Simone |last4=Poli |first4=Guido |last5=Vicenzi |first5=Elisa |date=2023 |title=Origin and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9933829/ |journal=European Physical Journal Plus |volume=138 |issue=2 |pages=157 |doi=10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03719-6 |issn=2190-5444 |pmc=9933829 |pmid=36811098}}
Information technology progressed, with smartphones becoming widespread and increasingly displacing desktop computers for many users. Internet coverage grew from 29% to 54% of the world population, and also saw advancements in wireless networking devices, mobile telephony, and cloud computing. Advancements in data processing and the rollout of 4G broadband allowed data, metadata, and information to be collected and dispersed among domains at paces never before seen while online resources such as social media facilitated phenomena such as the Me Too movement, the rise of slacktivism, and online cancel culture. WikiLeaks gained international attention for publishing classified information on topics related to Guantánamo Bay, Syria, the Afghan and Iraq wars, and United States diplomacy. Edward Snowden blew the whistle on global surveillance, raising awareness on the role governments and private entities play in global surveillance and information privacy. Baidu (4th), Twitter (6th) and Instagram (8th) emerged to become among the top 10 most visited websites, while Wikipedia went from the 9th to the 5th most popular website, almost sextupling its monthly visits. Yahoo significantly declined in popularity, descending from being the 1st to the 9th most popular site, with monthly visits declining by two-thirds. Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yandex maintained relatively consistent popularity and remained within the top 10 throughout the decade.
Global warming became increasingly noticeable through new record temperatures in different occurrences and extreme weather events on all continents. The CO2 concentration rose from 390 to 410 PPM over the decade. At the same time, combating pollution and climate change continued to be areas of major concern, as protests, initiatives, and legislation garnered substantial media attention. The Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, and the global climate youth movement was formed. Major natural disasters included the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Nepal earthquake of 2015, the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, the devastating tropical cyclones Bopha (Pablo), Haiyan (Yolanda), and Maria, as well as the 2019 European heat waves.
During the decade, the world population grew from 6.9 to 7.7 billion people. There were approximately 1.4 billion births during the decade (140 million per year), and about 560 million deaths (56 million per year).{{cite web |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/population-growth-rate |title=World Population Growth Rate 1950–2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005153754/https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/population-growth-rate |url-status=live}}
Politics and wars
{{See also|List of sovereign states in the 2010s}}
=Major conflicts=
{{Main|List of wars: 2003–present|2010s in political history}}
The prominent wars of the decade include:
==International wars==
| style="vertical-align:top" |
File:Ruins of Donetsk International airport (16).jpg ruins of Donetsk International Airport in late December 2014]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:Territorial control of the ISIS - 12-31-2014.svg (ISIL) proto-state in December 2014]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:Mosul in ruins after war.jpg's old city after recapture from ISIL in 2017]] |
{{Clear}}
==Civil wars==
=Revolutions and major protests=
{{Main|List of protests in the 21st century}}
Successful revolutions and otherwise major protests of the decade include, but are not limited to:
| style="vertical-align:top" |
|File:Wallst14occupy.jpg, greed and the influence of corporations on government led to the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011|center]] | style="vertical-align:top" | |File:Umbrella Revolution in Admiralty Night View 20141010.jpg|center]] | style="vertical-align:top" | |File:Manifestation contre le 5e mandat de Bouteflika (Blida).jpgn protesters gather during the 2019 "Smile Revolution"|center]] |
==Arab Spring==
{{Main|Arab Spring|Impact of the Arab Spring}}
The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Islamic world in the early 2010s. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in Tunisia.{{cite news |date=19 January 2011 |title=FEATURE-Peddler's martyrdom launched Tunisia's revolution |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/tunisia-protests-bouazizi-idAFLDE70G18J20110119/ |publisher=Reuters |access-date=16 September 2024 |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106020438/https://www.reuters.com/article/tunisia-protests-bouazizi-idAFLDE70G18J20110119 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/11/feb/1080.html |title=Uprisings in the region and ignored indicators |website=Payvand |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425231858/http://www.payvand.com/news/11/feb/1080.html |url-status=dead}} Social media was heralded as the driving force behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the world, as new protests appeared in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries. Many governments began recognising the importance of social media for citizens to organise and began shutting down certain websites or blocking Internet service entirely, especially prior to major rallies.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8287737/Egypt-protests-internet-service-disrupted-before-large-rally.html |title=Egypt protests: Internet service disrupted before large rally |date=28 January 2011 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=16 September 2024 |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916072624/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8287737/Egypt-protests-internet-service-disrupted-before-large-rally.html |url-status=live}} Governments also scrutinised or suppressed discussion in online forums through accusing content creators of unrelated crimes or shutting down communication on specific sites or groups, such as through Facebook.{{Cite journal |last=Skinner |first=Julia |date=10 December 2011 |title=Social Media and Revolution: The Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement as Seen through Three Information Studies Paradigms |url=https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1482&context=sprouts_all |journal=Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) |pages=3}}
| style="vertical-align:top" |
File:Arab Spring and Regional Conflict Map.svg saw mass unrest in the Arab world early in the decade: |File:Tahrir Square during 8 February 2011.jpg during the Egyptian revolution of 2011.|center]] |File:NTC fighters claim Bani Walid.jpg fighters celebrate during the Libyan Civil War.|center]] |
=Nuclear proliferation=
File:Iran negotiations about Iran's nuclear.jpg and Iranian negotiators meeting in Geneva for the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme (2013)]]
- On 8 April 2010, the United States and Russia signed a treaty in Prague, Czech Republic agreed 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.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8607985.stm |title=US and Russia hail nuclear treaty |date=8 April 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=10 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310081648/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8607985.stm |url-status=live}} The treaty went into force on 5 February 2011 after it was ratified by both nations.{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-02-05-start-treaty_N.htm |title=U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty finalised |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=20 June 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060442/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-02-05-start-treaty_N.htm |url-status=live}}
- In 2015, Iran and other world powers agreed to trade sanctions relief for explicit constraints on Iran's contentious nuclear program, including allowing the inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32166814 |title=Iran nuclear talks: 'Framework' deal agreed |work=BBC News |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=19 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619185620/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32166814 |url-status=live}} On 16 January 2016 the IAEA confirmed that Iran had complied with the agreement (the JCPOA), allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/iran-sanctions-lifted_us_569a3500e4b0ce496424a2b2 |title=Iran Says International Sanctions To Be Lifted Saturday |date=16 January 2016 |website=The Huffington Post |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821220845/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/iran-sanctions-lifted_us_569a3500e4b0ce496424a2b2 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nuclear-sanctions-be-lifted-iran-fm-zarif-n497861 |title=Iran Sanctions Lifted After Watchdog Verifies Nuclear Compliance |work=NBC News |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=23 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323220024/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nuclear-sanctions-be-lifted-iran-fm-zarif-n497861 |url-status=live}} However, on 8 May 2018, United States President Donald Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the deal.[https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/trump-iran-and-the-end-of-the-deal/ Trump, Iran and the end of the deal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511215838/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/trump-iran-and-the-end-of-the-deal/ |date=11 May 2018 }}, The Spectator.
- On 7 July 2017, the United Nations passed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination.{{cite news |last1=Gladstone |first1=Rick |title=A Treaty Is Reached to Ban Nuclear Arms. Now Comes the Hard Part. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/world/americas/united-nations-nuclear-weapons-prohibition-destruction-global-treaty.html |work=The New York Times |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=9 August 2017 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716130115/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/world/americas/united-nations-nuclear-weapons-prohibition-destruction-global-treaty.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Treaty banning nuclear weapons approved at UN: Supporters hail step towards nuclear free world as treaty is backed by 122 countries |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons-approved-un |work=The Guardian |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=9 August 2017 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212081704/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons-approved-un |url-status=live}} It has been signed by 58 nations.{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=20 September 2017 |access-date=21 September 2017}}{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
- Throughout the decade, North Korea expanded its nuclear capabilities, performing alleged nuclear tests in 2013{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/story?id=18444191 |title=North Korea Says it Has Conducted a Nuclear Test |date=12 February 2013 |work=ABC News |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022193506/http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=18444191 |url-status=live}} and 2016,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/06/north-korean-nuclear-test-suspected-as-artificial-earthquake-detected |title=North Korea claims successful hydrogen bomb test in 'self-defence against US' |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |last2=Safi |first2=Michael |date=6 January 2016 |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616153138/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/06/north-korean-nuclear-test-suspected-as-artificial-earthquake-detected |url-status=live}} which governments responded by placing international sanctions on the country.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8097370.stm |title=UN toughens North Korea sanctions |date=12 June 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809200452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8097370.stm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/world/un-north-korea-sanctions-vote/index.html |title=North Korea hit with tough sanctions by U.N. |work=CNN |first1=Richard |last1=Roth |first2=Holly |last2=Yan |first3=Ralph |last3=Ellis |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=1 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701205818/http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/world/un-north-korea-sanctions-vote/index.html |url-status=live}} In response North Korea has threatened the United States, South Korea and Japan with pre-emptive nuclear strikes.{{cite news |last1=Chambrot |first1=Krysten |last2=Ingber |first2=Hanna |last3=Keller |first3=Josh |last4=Mainl |first4=Lexi |last5=Murphy |first5=Heather |last6=Pecanha |first6=Sergio |last7=S |last8=Stevenson |first8=Ra |last9=Suppes |first9=Mark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/12/world/asia/north-korea-questions.html |title=In Focus: North Korea's Nuclear Threats |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907121731/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/12/world/asia/north-korea-questions.html |url-status=live}} However, in 2018, North Korea suggested that they may disarm their nuclear arsenal after negotiations with the United States.
- On 1 February 2019, The US formally suspended the Russo-American Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF),{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/politics/us-russia-nuclear-arms-treaty-pompeo/index.html |title=Pompeo announces suspension of nuclear arms treaty |access-date=1 February 2019 |website=CNN |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003004919/https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/politics/us-russia-nuclear-arms-treaty-pompeo/index.html |url-status=live}} and Russia did the same on the following day in response. The US formally withdrew from the treaty on 2 August 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49198565 |title=INF nuclear treaty: US pulls out of Cold War-era pact with Russia |work=BBC News |date=2 August 2019 |access-date=2 August 2019 |archive-date=2 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802085820/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49198565 |url-status=live}}
- The United States initiated a renovation of its nuclear weapon arsenal.
=Terrorist attacks=
{{Main|List of terrorist incidents#1970–present}}
The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include, but are not limited to:
| style="vertical-align:top" |
|File:13 November 2015 Paris attacks - montage.jpg. Islamic terrorism in Europe spiked following the rise of the Islamic State in 2014.]] |File:1st Boston Marathon blast seen from 2nd floor and a half block away.jpg on 15 April 2013.]] |File:2017 10 15 VBIED-8 (37666124646).jpg, which killed over 500 people.]] | style="vertical-align:top" | |
=Political trends=
{{Further|2010s in political history}}
==International relations==
File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with other BRICS leaders at a meeting, on the sidelines of G20 Summit 2015, in Turkey on November 15, 2015.jpg, a supranational economic cooperative comprising five major emerging national economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—grew to represent over 3.1 billion people, or about 41 percent of the world population by 2015.]]
China was increasingly called a superpower in the early 2010s, including at the 2011 meeting between President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama. By the end of the decade, China overtook the U.S. as the world's largest trading nation and the country filing the most patents, dramatically expanded its military and landed its lunar rover Yutu on the moon, ending a four-decade hiatus of lunar exploration. In 2018, global military spending reached its highest level since 1988, late Cold War levels, largely fuelled by increased defence spending by the United States (4.6% increase to $649 billion) and China (5% increase to $250 billion). Together, their budgets accounted for half of the world's total military spending.{{cite news |url=http://news.trust.org/item/20190429105059-m8xz0 |title=Global military spending at new post-Cold War high, fuelled by US, China – think-tank |date=29 April 2019 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430014523/http://news.trust.org/item/20190429105059-m8xz0 |url-status=dead}} In 2019, the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, which measures the projections of power across eight indexes in the Indo-Pacific, ranked the United States at #1 with a score of 84.5 and China #2 with a score of 75.9.{{cite web |url=https://power.lowyinstitute.org/countries |title=Asia Power Index | Countries |website=power.lowyinstitute.org |access-date=29 May 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109132254/https://power.lowyinstitute.org/countries |url-status=live}}
Along with the United States and China, Russia under President Vladimir Putin steadily increased its defence spending and continued to modernise its military throughout the decade. This included the development of the T-14 Armata main battle tank and the fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter. Russia also exercised its power projection capabilities in its 2014 annexation of Crimea and interventions in eastern Ukraine and the Syrian Civil War. Russia also waged information warfare campaigns against its geopolitical foes, interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections via hacking and leaking emails of U.S. political party leadership and by spreading disinformation via the Internet Research Agency. Other alleged Russian intelligence operations included the 2016 Montenegrin coup plot and the 2018 Skripal poisonings, both of which were attributed by some to the GRU's Unit 29155. Collectively, these activities—and the Western-led efforts to combat them—have been referred to as marking the beginning of the Second Cold War.
The European Union went through several crises. The European debt crisis caused severe economic problems to several eurozone member states, most notably Greece. The 2015 migration crisis led to several million people entering the EU illegally in a short period of time. There was a significant rise in the vote shares of several eurosceptic parties, including the League in Italy, Alternative for Germany, and the Finns Party in Finland. As a result of a referendum, the United Kingdom became the first member state in the EU's history to leave the Union.
==Western polarisation==
Socio-political polarisation increased as conservatives and social liberals clashed over the role and size of government and other social, economic and environmental issues in the West. In the United States, polls showed a divided electorate regarding healthcare reform, immigration, gun rights, taxation, job creation, and debt reduction.{{cite web |url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot |title=Generic Congressional Ballot – Rasmussen Reports |publisher=Rasmussenreports.com |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=8 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108001850/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot |url-status=live}}
- Jamrisko, Michelle. [http://www.salon.com/2013/09/10/political_polarization_colors_measures_of_economic_confidence_newscred/ "Political polarisation affects economic views"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123160718/http://www.salon.com/2013/09/10/political_polarization_colors_measures_of_economic_confidence_newscred/ |date=23 November 2020 }} Salon. Associated Press, 2013. Web. 7 January 2015.
- {{cite news |first=Zeke |last=Miller |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-want-higher-taxes-on-wealthy-no-entitlement-reform-in-super-committee-deal-2011-8 |title=Americans Want Higher Taxes on Wealthy, No Entitlement Reform In 'Super Committee' Deal |publisher=Businessinsider.com |date=10 August 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124133404/https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-want-higher-taxes-on-wealthy-no-entitlement-reform-in-super-committee-deal-2011-8 |url-status=live}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/09/05/herman_cain_obama_just_doesnt_have_a_clue_on_economic_issues.html |title=Herman Cain: Obama "Just Doesn't Have A Clue" On Economic Issues |publisher=RealClearPolitics |date=5 September 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214080342/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/09/05/herman_cain_obama_just_doesnt_have_a_clue_on_economic_issues.html |url-status=live}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.democracycorps.com/wp-content/files/dcor120811fq_WEBSITE.pdf |title=Democracy Corps/Women's Voices. Women Vote Action Fund Frequency Questionnaire |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722134242/http://www.democracycorps.com/wp-content/files/dcor120811fq_WEBSITE.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_favorability_ratings |title=Congressional Favourability Ratings – Rasmussen Reports |publisher=Rasmussenreports.com |date=27 October 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=15 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115020732/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_favorability_ratings |url-status=live}} In Europe, movements protesting increasing numbers of refugees and migrants from Islamic countries developed, such as the English Defence League and Pegida.{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/01/who-german-anti-islam-20151743438911640.html |title=Who is a German? |author=Jan Douwe Keulen |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827100242/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/01/who-german-anti-islam-20151743438911640.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/why-online-islamophobia-is-difficult-to-stop-1.2810242 |title=Why online Islamophobia is difficult to stop |date=2 November 2014 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214190830/https://www.cbc.ca/news/why-online-islamophobia-is-difficult-to-stop-1.2810242 |url-status=live}}
The trend of polarisation in the West was partially influenced by the prevalence of identity politics, both left-wing and right-wing, among activist movements.{{cite news |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/02/culture-war-liberals-conservatives-trump-2018-222095 |title=How Everything Became the Culture War |date=November 2018 |access-date=24 April 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524050840/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/02/culture-war-liberals-conservatives-trump-2018-222095 |url-status=live}} Beginning around 2011, far-left and progressive concepts such as combating social inequality and economic inequality, often via progressive stack tactics, proliferated in the Western world and elsewhere.{{cite news |title=Why Identity Politics Could Be Good Politics For Democrats In 2020 |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-identity-politics-could-be-good-politics-for-democrats-in-2020/ |date=2 April 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420092228/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-identity-politics-could-be-good-politics-for-democrats-in-2020/ |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |title=What's Intersectionality? Let These Scholars Explain the Theory and Its History |url=https://time.com/5560575/intersectionality-theory/ |date=29 March 2019 |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020230006/https://time.com/5560575/intersectionality-theory/ |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=May 2011 |title=Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% |first=Joseph |last=Stiglitz |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=6 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206042126/http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105 |url-status=live}} Around the middle of the decade, phenomenon such as white nationalism, identitarianism and emboldened feelings of nativism saw a marked reemergence in the West due to drastically increased migration and corresponding crime and amongst both the right and left general dissatisfaction with Western government and Media responses to certain issues.{{Cite web |title=The Rise of Right-wing Populism in Europe and the United States |first=Thomas |last=Greven |date=May 2016 |url=http://dc.fes.de/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/RightwingPopulism.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://dc.fes.de/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/RightwingPopulism.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}} There were also increased calls for egalitarianism, including between the sexes,England, Paula. "The gender revolution uneven and stalled" Gender & society 24.2 (2010): 149–166. and some scholars assert that a fourth wave of feminism began around 2012, with a primary focus on intersectionality.{{cite book |first=Nicola |last=Rivers |title=Postfeminism(s) and the Arrival of the Fourth Wave |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2017 |pages=4, 8 |isbn=978-3-319-59812-3 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-59812-3}}{{cite news |last=Cochrane |first=Kira |author-link=Kira Cochrane |title=The Fourth Wave of Feminism: Meet the Rebel Women |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/fourth-wave-feminism-rebel-women |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 December 2013 |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314123922/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/fourth-wave-feminism-rebel-women |url-status=live}}
==Anti-establishment politics==
File:Encontro com o Senhor Donald Trump, Presidente dos Estados Unidos da América (47422559941).jpg Jair Bolsonaro and United States President Donald Trump in 2019. Both are emblematic of a wave of neo-nationalist and globalisation-weary conservative populism in the second half of the decade.]]
Populism in politics saw a widespread surge throughout the decade, with many politicians and various political movements expressing populist sentiments and utilising populist rhetoric.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/opinion/26brooks.html |author=Brooks, David |title=The Populist Addiction |newspaper=The New York Times |date=25 January 2010 |access-date=29 September 2017 |archive-date=21 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221154518/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/opinion/26brooks.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/02/15/the-populism-problem |author=Surowiecki, James |title=The Populist Problem |magazine=The New Yorker |date=15 February 2010 |access-date=29 September 2017 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130023858/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/02/15/the-populism-problem |url-status=live}} This included conservative wave phenomenon in Latin America and neo-nationalist fervor in Europe and North America. The 2019 European Parliament election saw the highest voter turnout in two decades and saw relatively moderate centre-right and centre-left parties suffer significant losses to less moderate far-right, environmentalist, and both pro-EU and eurosceptic parties, who made gains.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/european-parliament-elections-5-takeaways-results-n1010491 |title=European Parliament elections: 5 takeaways from the results |last=Smith |first=Alexander |date=27 May 2019 |work=NBC News |access-date=27 May 2019 |archive-date=8 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008112811/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/european-parliament-elections-5-takeaways-results-n1010491 |url-status=live}} Examples of 2010s populist movements included the Tea Party movement,{{cite news |website=Salon |url=https://www.salon.com/2010/05/03/tea_party_populism_history/ |title=The strange history of Tea Party populism |first=Steve |last=Fraser |date=3 May 2010 |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106134208/https://www.salon.com/2010/05/03/tea_party_populism_history/ |url-status=live}} Occupy Wall Street,{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-what-should-a-populist-movement-ask-of-washington/246143/ |title='Occupy Wall Street': What Should a Populist Movement Ask of Washington? |author=Thompson, Derek |website=The Atlantic |date=4 October 2011 |access-date=30 September 2017 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111175153/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-what-should-a-populist-movement-ask-of-washington/246143/ |url-status=live}} Brexit,{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-populists-analysis/after-trump-and-brexit-populist-tsunami-threatens-european-mainstream-idUSKBN1341I1 |title=After Trump and Brexit, populist tsunami threatens European mainstream |author=Barkin, Noah |publisher=Reuters |date=9 November 2016 |access-date=30 September 2017 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130080052/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-populists-analysis/after-trump-and-brexit-populist-tsunami-threatens-european-mainstream-idUSKBN1341I1 |url-status=live}} Black Lives Matter,Roberts, Frank L. "[https://gallatin.nyu.edu/content/dam/gallatin/documents/syllabi/2015/FA/IDSEM-UG1849.pdf Black Lives Matter: Race, Resistance, and Populist Protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106145400/https://gallatin.nyu.edu/content/dam/gallatin/documents/syllabi/2015/FA/IDSEM-UG1849.pdf |date=6 November 2020 }}". New York University. Fall 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2018. and the alt-right.{{cite magazine |last=Wallace-Wells |first=Benjamin |title=Is the Alt-Right for real? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/benjamin-wallace-wells/is-the-alt-right-for-real |magazine=The New Yorker |date=5 May 2016 |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829183821/http://www.newyorker.com/news/benjamin-wallace-wells/is-the-alt-right-for-real |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Jason |title='A sense that white identity is under attack': making sense of the alt-right |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/23/alt-right-movement-white-identity-breitbart-donald-trump |work=The Guardian |date=23 August 2016 |access-date=7 September 2016 |archive-date=30 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830020613/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/23/alt-right-movement-white-identity-breitbart-donald-trump |url-status=live}} Examples of populist country leaders were just as extensive, with Donald Trump,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/how-can-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders-both-be-populist.html |title=How Can Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders Both Be 'Populist'? |author=Kazin, Michael |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 March 2016 |access-date=30 September 2017 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531054701/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/how-can-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders-both-be-populist.html |url-status=live}} Narendra Modi,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/23/indias-modi-has-been-bellwether-global-populism/ |title=India's Modi has been a bellwether for global populism |author=Taylor, Adam |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=20 November 2019}} Andrés Manuel López Obrador,{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ab335480-c742-11e6-8f29-9445cac8966f |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/ab335480-c742-11e6-8f29-9445cac8966f |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mexico's populist Amlo capitalises on economic woes |newspaper=Financial Times |date=1 January 2017}} Hugo Chávez,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/world/americas/venezuela-populism-authoritarianism.html |title=How Does Populism Turn Authoritarian? Venezuela Is a Case in Point |author1=Fisher, Max |author2=Taub, Amanda |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 April 2017 |access-date=30 September 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402005743/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/world/americas/venezuela-populism-authoritarianism.html |url-status=live}} Matteo Salvini,{{cite news |last=Stille |first=Alexander |title=How Matteo Salvini Pulled Italy to the Far Right |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/09/how-matteo-salvini-pulled-italy-to-the-far-right |date=9 August 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=11 August 2018 |archive-date=7 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707235102/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/09/how-matteo-salvini-pulled-italy-to-the-far-right |url-status=live}} Jair Bolsonaro,{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/01/01/681429911/right-wing-populist-jair-bolsonaro-sworn-in-as-president-of-brazil |title=Right-Wing Populist Jair Bolsonaro Sworn in As President of Brazil |website=NPR |access-date=26 January 2019 |archive-date=25 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125184417/https://www.npr.org/2019/01/01/681429911/right-wing-populist-jair-bolsonaro-sworn-in-as-president-of-brazil |url-status=live}} Rodrigo Duterte,{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/98589db0-8132-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/98589db0-8132-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Rodrigo Duterte and the populist playbook |website=Financial Times |access-date=26 January 2019}} Boris Johnson, Viktor Orbán, Robert Fico, Antonis Samaras and Alexis Tsipras left and right-wing, described as such.
Related to the rise of populism and protests movements was the decline of traditional political parties. In Europe, pasokification described the loss of vote share experienced by traditional centre-left or social democratic parties. In France, specifically, Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! party won a majority in its first election in 2017.
Centre-left, neoliberal and traditional social democratic parties often lost their vote share to more socialist or democratic socialist alternatives, especially in Europe. This happened most completely in Greece, where PASOK was replaced by Syriza as the main left-wing party. Other far-left parties which rose in prominence included Podemos in Spain and La France Insoumise in France. In the two-party systems of the English-speaking world, these challenges mainly came from within the established parties of the left, with Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party and Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party pushing for more left-wing policies.
The political establishment was also challenged in many countries by protest movements, often organised through new social media platforms. These included the various Arab Spring protests, the Occupy movement, and the yellow vests movement.
==Democractisation and authoritarianism==
File:Xi_Jinping_2019.jpg became China's leader for life in 2018.]]
Countries which democratised fully or partially during the decade included Angola, which reformed under João Lourenço;{{cite web |title=Freedom in the World 2019 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2019/democracy-in-retreat |publisher=Freedom House |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=15 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215005216/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2019/democracy-in-retreat |url-status=live}} Armenia, which went through a revolution;{{cite news |title=Three countries where democracy actually staged a comeback in 2018 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/17/three-countries-where-democracy-actually-staged-comeback/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Ecuador, which reformed under Lenín Moreno; Ethiopia; and Malaysia, where the ruling party lost the first election since independence.{{cite web |title=Did an election just cause Malaysian democratisation? |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/did-election-just-cause-malaysian-democratisation |publisher=The Lowy Institute}}
Long-term dictators ousted from power included Muammar Gaddafi of Libya (after 42 years),{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/the-big-picture/2018/11/death-gaddafi-181103124656506.html |title=The Death of Gaddafi |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=20 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120130827/https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/the-big-picture/2018/11/death-gaddafi-181103124656506.html |url-status=dead}} Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (37 years),{{cite news |title=Zimbabwe's army mounts a coup against Robert Mugabe |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2017/11/15/zimbabwes-army-mounts-a-coup-against-robert-mugabe |newspaper=The Economist |date=15 November 2017}} Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen (33 years),{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17177720 |title=Yemen president Saleh steps down |date=27 February 2012 |access-date=20 November 2019}} Omar al-Bashir of Sudan (30 years),{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/profile-omar-al-bashir-sudan-longtime-ruler-190411083628141.html |title=Profile: Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's longtime ruler |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=19 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119130215/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/profile-omar-al-bashir-sudan-longtime-ruler-190411083628141.html |url-status=live}} Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (29 years),{{cite news |title=Profile: Hosni Mubarak |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12301713 |work=BBC News |date=24 March 2017 |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=1 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101033342/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12301713 |url-status=live}} and Ben Ali of Tunisia (23 years).{{cite news |title=Ben Ali: Tunisia's ousted ex-president dies in exile aged 83 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49752876 |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2019 |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920180205/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49752876 |url-status=live}}
The Arab Winter refers to the resurgence of authoritarianism, absolute monarchies and Islamic extremism{{cite web |url=http://bpr.berkeley.edu/2015/03/30/after-every-winter-comes-spring-tunisias-democratic-flowering/ |title=After Every Winter Comes Spring: Tunisia's Democratic Flowering – Berkeley Political Review |author=Yun Ru Phua |date=31 March 2015 |publisher=Bpr.berkeley.edu |access-date=11 February 2017 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729220649/https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2015/03/30/after-every-winter-comes-spring-tunisias-democratic-flowering/ |url-status=live}} evolving in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests in Arab countries.Ahmed H Adam and Ashley D Robinson. Will the Arab Winter spring again in Sudan?. Al-Jazeera. 11 June 2016. [http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/05/arab-winter-spring-sudan-160531082228922.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208195234/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/05/arab-winter-spring-sudan-160531082228922.html|date=8 February 2018}} "The Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and succeeded in overthrowing three dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011 was a pivotal point in the history of nations. Despite the subsequent descent into the 'Arab Winter', the peaceful protests of young people were heroic..." The term "Arab Winter" refers to the events across Arab League countries in the Mid-East and North Africa, including the Syrian Civil War,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__lUxmzAZ08C&pg=PA296 |title=Fear and Faith in Paradise |last1=Karber |first1=Phil |date=18 June 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4422-1479-8 |access-date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923083405/https://books.google.com/books?id=__lUxmzAZ08C&pg=PA296 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://americamagazine.org/issue/culture/arab-winter |title=Arab Winter |date=28 December 2012 |work=America Staging |access-date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=26 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026051005/http://americamagazine.org/issue/culture/arab-winter |url-status=live}} the Iraqi insurgency and the following civil war,{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Analysis-Arab-Winter-is-coming-to-Baghdad-359348 |title=Analysis: Arab Winter is coming to Baghdad |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714211712/https://www.jpost.com//Middle-East/Analysis-Arab-Winter-is-coming-to-Baghdad-359348 |url-status=live}} the Egyptian Crisis,{{cite news |url=http://www.euronews.com/2013/02/08/egypt-and-tunisia-s-new-arab-winter/ |title=Egypt and Tunisia's new 'Arab winter' |date=8 February 2013 |work=Euro news |access-date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629014655/https://www.euronews.com/2013/02/08/egypt-and-tunisia-s-new-arab-winter |url-status=live}} the Libyan crisis and the crisis in Yemen.{{cite news |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-s-arab-winter-1470341500 |title=Yemen's Arab winter |work=Middle East Eye |access-date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=30 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930115643/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-s-arab-winter-1470341500 |url-status=live}} Events referred to as the Arab Winter include those in Egypt that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi and the seizure of power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an anti-Muslim Brotherhood campaign.{{Citation |title=Egypt & Tunisia's new Arab winter |date=8 February 2013 |url=http://www.euronews.com/2013/02/08/egypt-and-tunisia-s-new-arab-winter/ |newspaper=Euro news |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629014655/https://www.euronews.com/2013/02/08/egypt-and-tunisia-s-new-arab-winter |url-status=live}}
Democratic backsliding also occurred in countries such as Hungary,{{cite news |title=As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What's Possible |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/world/europe/hungary-orban-democracy-far-right.html |work=The New York Times |date=10 February 2018 |last1=Kingsley |first1=Patrick |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=14 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914133730/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/world/europe/hungary-orban-democracy-far-right.html |url-status=live}} Venezuela,{{cite journal |title=The Final Blow to Venezuela's Democracy |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/venezuela/2016-11-01/final-blow-venezuelas-democracy |journal=Foreign Affairs |date=14 August 2019 |last1=Sabatini |first1=Christopher |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225184836/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/venezuela/2016-11-01/final-blow-venezuelas-democracy |url-status=live}} and Turkey.{{cite journal |last1=Tansel |first1=Cemal Burak |title=Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Democratic Backsliding in Turkey: Beyond the Narratives of Progress |journal=South European Society and Politics |date=2018 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=197–217 |doi=10.1080/13608746.2018.1479945 |doi-access=free |issn=1360-8746}}
In 2018, China's National People's Congress approved a constitutional change that removed term limits for its leaders, granting Xi Jinping the status of "leader for life". Xi is the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto leader).
==Deaths==
Sitting world leaders such as Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Kim Jong-il of North Korea, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Lech Kaczyński of Poland, Zillur Rahman of Bangladesh, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia, all died in office, as did former leaders Fidel Castro, Lee Kuan Yew, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Mugabe, Giulio Andreotti, Francesco Cossiga, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Mario Soares, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Jacques Chirac, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Hussain Mohammad Ershad, Mohamed Morsi, Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Dimitris Christofias, Václav Havel, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, B. J. Habibie, Yasuhiro Nakasone, Alan García, Jorge Rafael Videla, Néstor Kirchner, Fernando de la Rúa, Patricio Aylwin, Itamar Franco, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George H. W. Bush.
=Prominent political events=
==Coups==
{{Main|List of coups d'état and coup attempts since 2010}}
Coups d'état against ruling governments during the decade include:
The following tables of events is listed by the region and by chronological order. The prominent political events include, but are not limited to:
==Africa==
{{Further|Category:2010s in Africa}}
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:200px;"| Event ! Country ! style="width:120px;"| Date ! Description ! References |
| 2011 South Sudanese independence referendum
| {{flag|South Sudan}} | 9 July 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. |
| Death of Nelson Mandela
| {{flag|South Africa}} | 5 December 2013 | Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died at the age of 95. |
| 2014 Tunisian presidential election
| {{flag|Tunisia}} | 21 November 2014 | Beji Caid Essebsi won the first regular presidential election following the Tunisian revolution against outgoing president Moncef Marzouki. He became Tunisia's fifth president and first freely elected head of state in the Arab world. |
| 2015 Nigerian general election
| {{flag|Nigeria}} | 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. |
| 2016 Gambian presidential election
| {{flag|Gambia}} | 1 December 2016 | Adama Barrow was elected President of The Gambia, defeating long-time President Yahya Jammeh and ending more than 22 years of authoritarian rule. |
| Resignation of Jacob Zuma
|{{flag|South Africa}} |14 February 2018 |Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa, after nine years in power. |
| Resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika
|{{flag|Algeria}} |2 April 2019 |Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria amid widespread protests, after nearly two decades in office. |
| Khartoum massacre
|{{flag|Sudan}} |3 June 2019 |Security forces of the Transitional Military Council, the military junta ruling Sudan following the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, massacre over 100 people at a sit-in protest amid mass protests in Khartoum. The massacre prompts the African Union to suspend Sudan's participation until civilian rule is reestablished in the country. |{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/africa/sudan-death-toll-intl/index.html |title=Sudan death roll rises to 100 as bodies found in Nile, say doctors |first1=Kareem |last1=Khadder |first2=Julia |last2=Hollingsworth |work=CNN |access-date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=13 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613001955/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/africa/sudan-death-toll-intl/index.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1T71NM-OZATP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606142714/https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1T71NM-OZATP |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 June 2019 |title=African Union suspends Sudan, demands civilian administration |date=6 June 2019 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=6 June 2019}} |
| 2019 Tunisian presidential election
| {{flag|Tunisia}} | 13 October 2019 | Conservative academic Kais Saied wins more than 70% of the votes, defeating businessman Nabil Karoui. He became Tunisia's sixth president and second freely elected head of state in the Arab world. |
==Americas==
{{Further|Category:2010s in North America|Category:2010s in South America}}
| style="vertical-align:top" |
|File:Miguel Díaz-Canel and Narendra Modi.jpg (left) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2015. Díaz-Canel became the first president of Cuba not to be of the Castro family since Osvaldo Dorticós]] | style="vertical-align:top" | |File:Donald Trump star Hollywood Walk of Fame.JPG, a celebrity (filmography) and businessman, became president of the United States in 2017. Trump was the first U.S. president without prior military or government experience. Had Hillary Clinton been elected in 2016, she would have been the United States' first female president. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, but did not win the electoral college.]] | style="vertical-align:top" | |
==Asia==
{{Further|Category:2010s in Asia}}
| style="vertical-align:top" |
File:Belt and Road Initiative participant map.svg infrastructure initiative, with over 150 countries announcing participation by the end of the decade.]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:Kim and Trump shaking hands at the red carpet during the DPRK–USA Singapore Summit.jpg and U.S. President Donald Trump meet during the first North Korea–United States summit in Singapore, June 2018]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:WOMEN2DRIVE logo.png: Women's rights in Saudi Arabia made progress when women were allowed to drive in the kingdom in 2018.]] |
==Europe==
{{Further|Category:2010s in Europe}}
| style="vertical-align:top" |
|File:President Barack Obama with Pope Francis at the Vatican, March 27, 2014.jpg with U.S. President Barack Obama, 2014]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:Crimea_(orthographic_projection).svg from office, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine]] | style="vertical-align:top" | File:20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2.jpg. In the 2010s Europe had been severely affected by a huge migration from Africa and Middle East]] | style="vertical-align:top" | | |
=World leaders=
{{Main|List of state leaders in the 2010s}}
Assassinations and attempts
{{Main|List of assassinations and assassination attempts}}
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
File:Osama bin Laden portrait.jpg]]
File:Anwar al-Awlaki portrait 3x4.jpg]]
File:Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2010 (cropped).jpg]]
File:Malala Yousafzai at Girl Summit 2014.jpg]]
File:Andrei Gennadjewitsch Karlow 3x4 cropped.jpg]]
File:Jamal Khashoggi in March 2018 (cropped).jpg]]
File:Mugshot of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 2004.jpg]]
Disasters
=Non-natural disasters=
==Aviation==
{{See also|Category:21st-century aviation accidents and incidents}}
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:120px;"| Event ! style="width:120px;"| Date ! Country ! Description ! References |
| Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409
| 25 January 2010 |{{flag|Ethiopia}} | 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. |
| 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
| 10 April 2010 | {{flag|Russia}} | Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of Polish government and military officials were among 96 people killed when their plane crashed near Smolensk, Russia. |
| Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771
| 12 May 2010 | {{flag|Libya|1977}} | Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed on a runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing all but one of the 104 passengers and crew. |
| Air India Express Flight 812
| 22 May 2010 | {{flag|India}} | Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 people, with eight surviving. |
| Airblue Flight 202
| 28 July 2010 | {{flag|Pakistan}} | 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. |
| Dana Air Flight 992
| 3 June 2012 | {{flag|Nigeria}} | Dana Air Flight 992 crashed in the Nigerian city of Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard. 10 people on the ground also perished. |
| Asiana Airlines Flight 214
|6 July 2013 |{{flag|United States}} |Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport killing 3 and injuring 181 people. |
| Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
| 8 March 2014 | {{flag|Malaysia}} | 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. |{{cite news |title=New missing Malaysian plane MH370 search area announced |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28031741 |access-date=21 June 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Safi |first1=Michael |last2=Holmes |first2=Oliver |date=30 July 2015 |title=MH370 search: what is the 'flaperon' debris found in Réunion? |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/30/mh370-search-what-is-the-debris-found-in-la-reunion |access-date=21 June 2016}} |
| Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
| 17 July 2014 | {{flag|Malaysia}} | 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 airliner shoot down in history. |
| Air Algérie Flight 5017
| 24 July 2014 | {{flag|Mali}} | Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashed in southern Mali, killing all 116 passengers and crew. |
| Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
| 28 December 2014 |{{flag|Indonesia}} | Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed in the Java sea after an attempt to avoid heavy thunderstorms, leaving all 162 people dead. |
| Germanwings Flight 9525
| 24 March 2015 | {{flag|France}} | Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. |
| 2015 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
| 30 June 2015 | {{flag|Indonesia}} | A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Indonesian Air Force crashed into a crowded residential neighbourhood 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. |
| Metrojet Flight 9268
| 31 October 2015 | {{flag|Egypt}} | Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board. |
| LaMia Flight 2933
| 29 November 2016 | {{flag|Colombia}} | A chartered Avro RJ85 plane carrying 77 people, including the Chapecoense football team, crashes near Medellín, Colombia. Six of the passengers survived. The 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals were suspended, and Atlético Nacional, Chapecoense's to-be opponents, gave them the trophy out of respect. |
| 2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
| 25 December 2016 | {{flag|Russia}} | A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble. |
| Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704
| 18 February 2018 | {{flag|Iran}} | Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Zagros Mountains, en route from Tehran to Yasuj. All 65 passengers and crew members perish. |
| Cubana de Aviación Flight 972
| 18 May 2018 | {{flag|Cuba}} | Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes shortly after take-off near José Martí International Airport in Havana, killing 112 and leaving only one survivor. |{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/world/americas/cuba-airplane-crash.html |title=More Than 100 Die as Ageing Cuban Airliner Crashes |first1=Rick |last1=Gladstone |first2=Frances |last2=Robles |date=18 May 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 July 2018}} |
| Lion Air Flight 610
| 29 October 2018 | {{flag|Indonesia}} | Lion Air Flight 610 crashes off the coast of Java, with 189 passengers on board. |
| Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
| 10 March 2019 | {{flag|Ethiopia}} | Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, crashes shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board. |{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/africa/ethiopia-pm-offers-condolences-after-ethiopian-airlines-flight-crash |title=Ethiopian Airlines crash: 'No Survivors' on flight with 157 on board, plane similar to jet in Lion Air crash |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=10 March 2019 |access-date=10 March 2019}} |
| Aeroflot Flight 1492
| 5 May 2019 | {{flag|Russia}} | Aeroflot Flight 1492 makes a hard landing, causing fire and partial destruction at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, killing 41 of the 78 people on board. |
File:Katastrofa w Smoleńsku.jpg|On 10 April 2010 a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed in Russia with the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other passengers including many senior officials
File:Boeing 777-200ER Malaysia AL (MAS) 9M-MRO - MSN 28420 404 (9272090094).jpg|For over 15 months it was unclear what exactly happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 until at the end of July 2015 a few remnants of the plane swept to the shores of the island of Réunion
==General==
==Fires==
{{Main|Category:Fires by year}}
==Marine==
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:120px;"| Event ! style="width:120px;"| Date ! Country ! Description ! References |
| Costa Concordia disaster
| 13 January 2012 | {{flag|Italy}} | The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially capsized off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy, killing 32 people. |
| Sinking of MV Sewol
| 16 April 2014 | {{flag|South Korea}} | South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized while en route to Jeju, killing 295 people, mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School. |
| Sinking of Dongfang zhi Xing
| 1 June 2015 | {{flag|China}} | The river cruise ship Dongfang 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. |
| Sinking of MV Nyerere
| 20 September 2018 | {{flag|Tanzania}} | The MV Nyerere capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at least 227 passengers. |
==Pollution==
=Natural disasters=
{{See also|Category:2010s natural disasters}}
==Earthquakes and tsunamis==
==Tropical cyclones==
==Tornadoes==
{{See also|List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2010–2019)}}
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:120px;"| Event ! style="width:120px;"| Date ! Country ! Description ! References |
| 2011 Super Outbreak
| 25–28 April 2011 | {{flag|United States}}{{flag|Canada}} | A tornado outbreak in the United States and Canada killed 324 people across six states. At 360 tornadoes, it was the largest and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in United States history. |
| 21–26 May 2011 tornado outbreak sequence
| 21 May 2011 | {{flag|United States}} | Another U.S. 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 158 people and injuring at least 1,150. |{{cite web |url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/torn/fataltorn.html |title=Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics |publisher=Storm Prediction Center}} |
| 2019 Nepal tornado
| 31 March 2019 | {{flag|Nepal}} | A tornado struck the Bara and Parsa districts of Nepal, killing 28 and injuring 1,176 people. It is the first officially recorded tornado in Nepalese history. |
==Floods, avalanches, and mudslides==
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:120px;" | Event ! style="width:120px;" | Date ! Country ! Description ! References |
| 2010 Pakistan floods
| July 2010 | {{flag|Pakistan}} | 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. |{{cite news |last=Bodeen |first=Christopher |title=Asia flooding plunges millions into misery |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |agency=Associated Press |date=8 August 2010 |access-date=8 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904101109/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400 |archive-date=4 September 2010 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/asia/31pstan.html |title=400 Killed in Flooding in Pakistan, Officials Say |last=Khan |first=Ismail |work=The New York Times |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=30 July 2010}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-31/pakistan-death-toll-from-flash-floods-in-northwest-rises-to-539-edhi-says.html |title=Deaths From Pakistan Floods May Reach 3,000, Rescue Service Official Says |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=12 May 2013}} |
| January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides
| 11 January 2011 | {{flag|Brazil}} | Floods and mudslides killed 903 people across the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. |{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/death-toll-from-brazil-floods-hits-600-1.870203 |title=Death toll from Brazil floods hits 600 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=21 June 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/numero-de-mortos-na-regiao-serrana-ja-passa-de-900-apos-chuvas-de-janeiro-2822331 |title=Número de mortos na Região Serrana já passa de 900 após chuvas de janeiro |website=O Globo |language=pt-BR |date=16 February 2011 |access-date=21 June 2016}} |
| 2013 Alberta floods
| 19 June 2013 | {{flag|Canada}} | Massive flooding occurred in Alberta, becoming the province's worst flooding in decades. |
| 2014 Southeast Europe floods
|13–27 May 2014 |{{flag|Serbia}} {{flag|Bosnia}} {{flag|Croatia}} {{flag|Romania}} |Between 13 and 18 May 2014 a low pressure cyclone designated "Tamara" and "Yvette" affected a large area of Southeastern and Central Europe, causing floods and landslides. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered the greatest damage as the rain was the heaviest in 120 years of recorded weather measurements. At least 86 people were killed and hundreds of thousands had been forced from their homes. Assessments of damage range up to 3.5 billion euros for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. | |
| 2015 Afghanistan avalanches
| 24 February 2015 | {{flag|Afghanistan|2013}} | An avalanche killed 310 people and wounded over 129 in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. |
| 2015 South Indian floods
| 8 November 2015 | {{flag|India}} | Heavy rainfall generated by the annual northeast monsoon affected the Coromandel Coast region of the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. More than 500 people were killed and over 1.8 million people were displaced. With estimates of damages and losses ranging from nearly ₹200 billion (US$3 billion) to over ₹1 trillion (US$14 billion), the floods were the costliest to have occurred in 2015, and were among the costliest natural disasters of the year. |
==Volcanic eruptions==
| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! style="width:120px;"| Event ! style="width:120px;"| Date ! Country ! Description ! References |
| 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
| 20 March 2010 | {{flag|Iceland}} | Eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland caused unprecedented disruption to international air travel, rendering transatlantic flight impossible and closing airways across much of Europe. The event was the largest air traffic shut-down since World War II. |
| 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi
| Early November 2010 | {{flag|Indonesia}} | Mount Merapi erupted in Indonesia, killing 353 people and grounding flights across Southeast Asia, becoming the largest eruption from the mountain in a century. | |
| 2018 lower Puna eruption
| 3 May 2018 | {{flag|United States}} | A lava flow erupted in Hawai'i from Kīlauea's east rift zone, causing much damage and resulting in evacuation orders. | |
| 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption
| 3 June 2018 | {{flag|Guatemala}} | Volcán de Fuego erupted in Guatemala, killing at least 190 people, the deadliest eruption in Guatemala since 1929. | |
| 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption
|9 December 2019 |{{flag|New Zealand}} |Whakaari/White Island, an active stratovolcano off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, erupted, killing 20 people. |{{cite news |title=Another person dies of injuries from Whakaari /White Island eruption, bringing death toll to 20 |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/another-person-dies-injuries-whakaari-white-island-eruption-bringing-death-toll-20 |publisher=TVNZ |access-date=13 January 2020}} |
==Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires==
{{Main|Category:2010s wildfires}}
Economics
File:Greek debt and EU average.png
File:Man and delivery robot waiting at pedestrian crosing in Redwood City, California.jpg, United States. E-commerce spurred advancements in drone delivery and transformed parts of the services and retail sectors]]
File:New York and Jersey City Skyline Panorama Crop 2 - One World Trade Center.jpg opened its doors in the Financial District of Manhattan, serving as a replacement to the original World Trade Center Twin Towers that were destroyed in 2001. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in 2011 (the same year Osama bin Laden was killed), the 9/11 Memorial was opened.]]
The global economy during the 2010s was generally strong. It saw steady growth, low unemployment, and increasing consumer confidence recovering from the great recession. The decade ended with a strong finish, with 2019 seeing record highs in many areas. 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14385636 |work=BBC News |title=Bond market developments are deep concern, says Barroso |date=3 August 2011}} 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/27/business/euro-debt-crisis-plan/index.html |publisher=CNN |title=Does debt deal solve euro woes? |date=27 October 2011}} Despite the Eurozone debt crisis, the American Dow Jones Industrial Average had its longest stretch of gains since the late 1990s tech boom.[http://www.frbsf.org/education/publications/doctor-econ/2001/february/bull-bear-market-dow-jones#footnote8 "When were the most prolific bull and bear market periods in the United States?"] Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2001. Web. 6 January 2015. 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, resulting in the Arab Spring leading to political instability and civil wars.
As a result of the global recession, many central banks instituted a zero interest-rate policy, or close to it.{{cite news |last1=Tan |first1=Weizhen |title='Addiction' to cheap money will do 'tremendous damage' to the global economy |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/17/central-banks-cutting-interest-rates-to-zero-or-negative-bad-for-economy.html |publisher=CNBC}} Another form of monetary stimulus was that of quantitative easing. The resulting flood of market liquidity caused a rise in asset prices.{{cite news |last1=Enda |first1=Curran |title=Central Bankers Are Playing a Dangerous Game With Asset Prices |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-24/storing-up-trouble-why-central-banks-may-only-delay-recession |publisher=Bloomberg}} As a result, for example, United States stock prices reached record highs.{{cite news |last1=Bartash |first1=Jeffrey |title=It's great the stock market is setting records, but it's not because the economy is great |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-great-the-stock-market-is-setting-records-but-its-not-because-the-economy-is-great-2019-11-16 |publisher=MarketWatch}} Another consequence has been the rise in housing prices in many major world cities.{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Judith |title=Real estate: post-crisis boom draws to a close |url=https://www.ft.com/content/64c381c8-8798-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/64c381c8-8798-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=Financial Times}} Some of the cities which recorded the most dramatic rises included Sydney, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Auckland.{{cite news |title=Our cities house-price index suggests the property market is slowing |url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/08/11/our-cities-house-price-index-suggests-the-property-market-is-slowing |newspaper=The Economist |date=11 August 2018}}
In 2010, China became the second largest global economy, surpassing Japan.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110214/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_economy |title=Japan confirms China surpassed its economy in 2010 |first=Tomoko A. |last=Hosaka |publisher=Yahoo! |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220105329/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110214/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_economy |archive-date=20 February 2011}} Japan also saw a rating downgrade the following year due to debt burden.{{cite news |last=Fujioka |first=Toru |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/moody-s-lowers-japan-s-government-credit-rating-to-aa3-outlook-stable.html |title=Japan Unveils Billion to Fight Surging Yen as Moody's Lowers Rating |publisher=Bloomberg |date=24 August 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011}} In August 2011, the S&P downgraded the United States' credit rating from triple AAA to AA-plus following a debt ceiling crisis.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-debt-downgrade-idUSTRE7746VF20110806 |publisher=Reuters |title=United States loses prized AAA credit rating from S&P |date=6 August 2011 |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154539/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/06/us-usa-debt-downgrade-idUSTRE7746VF20110806 |url-status=live}} Also in 2011, a Gallup poll found that more than half of Americans believed the country was still in a recession.{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/147299/half-say-recession-depression.aspx |title=More Than Half Still Say U.S. Is in Recession or Depression |publisher=Gallup |date=28 April 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011}} In June 2015, the Shanghai Stock Exchange lost a third of the value of A-shares within one month, an event known as the 2015–16 Chinese stock market turbulence. India became the fastest growing major economy of the world in 2015, surpassing China.{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-india-clocks-75-growth-in-January-march-quarter-becomes-world-s-fastest-growing-economy-2090462 |title=India clocks 7.5% growth in January–March quarter, becomes world's fastest growing economy |work=Daily News & Analysis |date=29 May 2015 |access-date=6 March 2016}} In 2018, as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates, fears of a yield curve inversion preceding a potential U.S. recession sent inflation higher in several emerging markets, including Argentina, where interest rates hit 40% and an International Monetary Fund bail out was issued.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/argentina-interest-rates-40-central-bank-latest-inflation-crisis-a8336436.html. |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/argentina-interest-rates-40-central-bank-latest-inflation-crisis-a8336436.html. |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Argentina hikes interest rates to 40% amid inflation crisis |date=4 May 2018}}{{cbignore}} In 2019, Singapore supplanted the United States as the world's most competitive economy, with the U.S. dropping to third, behind Hong Kong.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/worlds-most-competitive-economy |title=The US is no longer the world's most competitive economy |date=30 May 2019 |publisher=Fox Business |access-date=31 May 2019}}
Global oil production in 2014 reached a historic peak, reaching 93 million barrels/day.{{cite web |title=International Energy Statistics – EIA |url=https://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=5&pid=53&aid=1&syid=2010&eyid=2014&unit=TBPD |website=eia.gov |access-date=19 January 2016}} In 2018, partially due to a shale boom, the United States overcame Russia and Saudi Arabia in becoming the world's largest crude oil producer, the first time since 1973.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/12/investing/us-oil-production-russia-saudi-arabia/index.html |title=America is now the world's largest oil producer |date=12 September 2018 |work=CNNBusiness |access-date=31 May 2019}} Around the year 2017 is a period seen by some economists as being the new peak of a "goldilocks economy".{{cite news |title=Economic optimism drives stockmarket highs |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/10/goldilocks-back |newspaper=The Economist |date=17 October 2017}} The International Monetary Fund's April 2019 World Economic Outlook stated, "After peaking at close to 4 percent in 2017, global [economic] growth remained strong, at 3.8 percent in the first half of 2018, but dropped to 3.2 percent in the second half of the year."{{cite news |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2019/03/28/world-economic-outlook-april-2019 |title=World Economic Outlook, April 2019: Growth Slowdown, Precarious Recovery |date=April 2019}}
In 2018, United States President Donald Trump announced he would put into place new tariffs on some Chinese products, starting the 'US-China Trade War', an economic conflict involving the world's two largest economies. Trump said the reasoning for the trade war was to punish China for "unfair" trade practices, such as the appropriation of jobs and the theft of American intellectual property. China responded with tariffs of its own, and a cycle began, escalating the conflict. As part of his 'America First' policy, Trump also announced new tariffs were being placed on countries around the world for various products such as steel and aluminium, which also drew some economic retaliation from traditional U.S. trade partners.
By the end of the decade, in North American and some Western European domestic economies, consumer-level purchasing habits had shifted significantly, a partial consequence of the Great Recession's impact on discretionary incomes and a shifting breadwinner model. The so-called "retail apocalypse" had commenced as consumers increasingly resorted to online shopping and e-commerce, accelerating the decline of brick-and-mortar retail and the continued decline of indoor shopping malls. The transitioning retail industry and popularity of online shopping facilitated economic phenomena such as bricks and clicks business models, pop-up and non-store retailing, drone delivery services, ghost restaurants, and a quickly maturing online food ordering and delivery service sector.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/retail-meltdown-of-2017/522384/ |title=What in the World Is Causing the Retail Meltdown of 2017? |first=Derek |last=Thompson |date=10 April 2017 |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=10 April 2017}}Mark James, [https://target-help.com/retail-apocalypse/ Retail Apocalypse Online competition drives store closings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124317/https://target-help.com/retail-apocalypse/|date=9 February 2019}} [https://target-help.com/retail-apocalypse/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124317/https://target-help.com/retail-apocalypse/|date=9 February 2019}} , 16 July 2018 This was only further perpetuated by the rise in cryptocurrency throughout the decade, such as Bitcoin. By May 2018, over 1,800 cryptocurrency specifications existed.{{cite news |last1=Badkar |first1=Mamta |title=Fed's Bullard: Cryptocurrencies creating 'non-uniform' currency in US |url=https://www.ft.com/content/29dcb760-5787-11e8-b8b2-d6ceb45fa9d0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/29dcb760-5787-11e8-b8b2-d6ceb45fa9d0 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |newspaper=Financial Times |date=14 May 2018 |access-date=14 May 2018}}
In the same vein as cryptocurrency, the trend towards a cashless society continued as non-cash transactions and digital currency saw an increase in favourability in the 2010s. By 2016, only about 2 percent of the value transacted in Sweden was by cash, and only about 20 percent of retail transactions were in cash. Fewer than half of bank branches in the country conducted cash transactions.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/04/sweden-cashless-society-cards-phone-apps-leading-europe |title=Sweden leads the race to become cashless society |first=Jon |last=Henley |newspaper=The Observer |date=4 June 2016 |via=theguardian.com}} A report published in 2019 suggested that the percentage of payments conducted in cash in the United Kingdom had fallen to 34% from 63% from 2009.{{Cite web |date=March 2019 |title=Access to Cash Review Final Report |url=https://www.accesstocash.org.uk/media/1087/final-report-final-web.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.accesstocash.org.uk/media/1087/final-report-final-web.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=accesstocash.org.uk}} The 2016 United States User Consumer Survey Study claimed that 75 percent of respondents preferred a credit card or debit card as their payment method while only 11 percent of respondents preferred cash.{{Cite web |url=https://www.tsys.com/Assets/TSYS/downloads/rs_2016-us-consumer-payment-study.pdf |title=2016 User Consumer Study |access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-date=2 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802004654/https://www.tsys.com/Assets/TSYS/downloads/rs_2016-us-consumer-payment-study.pdf |url-status=dead}}
Science and technology
{{Main|2010s in science and technology}}
Two of the most prominent deaths in the scientific community during the decade were Neil Armstrong in 2012 and Stephen Hawking in 2018.
Below are the most significant scientific developments of each year, based on the annual Breakthrough of the Year award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal Science.
- 2010: The first quantum machine{{cite journal |first=Adrian |last=Cho |title=BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR. The First Quantum Machine |journal=Science |year=2010 |volume=330 |issue=6011 |page=1604 |doi=10.1126/science.330.6011.1604 |bibcode=2010Sci...330.1604C |pmid=21163978}}
- 2011: HIV treatment as prevention (HPTN 052){{cite journal |first=Jon |last=Cohen |title=Breakthrough of the Year: HIV Treatment as Prevention |journal=Science |year=2011 |volume=334 |issue=6063 |page=1628 |doi=10.1126/science.334.6063.1628 |bibcode=2011Sci...334.1628C |pmid=22194547 |doi-access=}}
- 2012: Discovery of the Higgs boson{{cite journal |url=https://www.science.org/toc/science/338/6114 |title=Breakthrough of the Year, 2012 |journal=Science}}
- 2013: Cancer immunotherapy{{cite journal |url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.342.6165.1432 |title=Cancer Immunotherapy |first=Jenifer |last=Couzin-Franken |journal=Science |date=20 December 2013 |volume=342 |issue=6165 |pages=1432–1433 |doi=10.1126/science.342.6165.1432 |pmid=24357284 |access-date=22 December 2013 |archive-date=22 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222085116/http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6165/1432.full |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}
- 2014: Rosetta comet mission{{cite journal |title=Comet rendezvous |first=Eric |last=Hand |journal=Science |date=19 December 2014 |volume=346 |issue=6216 |pages=1442–1443 |doi=10.1126/science.346.6216.1442 |pmid=25525223 |doi-access=free}}
- 2015: CRISPR genome-editing method{{cite journal |title=Making the cut |first=John |last=Travis |date=18 December 2015 |volume=350 |issue=6267 |pages=1456–1457 |journal=Science Magazine |doi=10.1126/science.350.6267.1456 |pmid=26680172 |doi-access=free}}
- 2016: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory makes the first observation of gravitational waves, fulfilling Einstein's prediction{{cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/ripples-spacetime-sciences-2016-breakthrough-year |title=Ripples in spacetime: Science's 2016 Breakthrough of the Year |work=Adiran Cho |publisher=AAAS |date=22 December 2016 |access-date=23 December 2016}}
- 2017: Cosmic convergence: Neutron star merger (GW170817){{cite web |title=Breakthrough of the year 2017 |url=https://vis.sciencemag.org/breakthrough2017/ |website=Science |publisher=AAAS |date=22 December 2017 |access-date=9 September 2018}}
- 2018: Development cell by cell{{cite web |title=Choose your 2018 Breakthrough of the Year! |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/choose-your-2018-breakthrough-year |website=Science |publisher=AAAS |access-date=28 November 2018}}
- 2019: First black hole image released{{cite news |last1=Phelan |first1=Meagan |last2=Beckwith |first2=Walter |title=Science's 2019 Breakthrough: First Image of Supermassive Black Hole |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/sciences-2019-breakthrough-first-image-supermassive-black-hole |date=19 December 2019 |work=American Association for the Advancement of Science |access-date=20 December 2019}}{{cite news |author=American Association for the Advancement of Science |author-link=American Association for the Advancement of Science |title=Science's 2019 breakthrough of the year: The first image of a black hole |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/aaft-2b121619.php |date=19 December 2019 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220005804/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/aaft-2b121619.php |url-status=dead}}
=Technology=
The late 2000s saw the rise of two prominent mobile operating systems, Android developed by Google and iOS developed by Apple.File:3D printed liver model for decision making.jpg model of a human liver]]
Robotics, particularly drones like quadcopters, experienced a wide use and application in the 2010s. Autonomous and electric car technology and sales showed considerable growth as well. In addition, sustainable space launch technologies were spearheaded by entrepreneurs like Elon Musk.
In 2016, the number of people globally using mobile devices to access the internet overtook those using desktop computers for the first time, having been preceded by the U.S. two years prior in 2014.{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/02/28/technology/mobile/mobile-apps-internet/index.html |title=Mobile apps overtake monthly Internet usage on PCs for the first time |first=James |last=O'Toole |date=28 February 2014 |website=CNNMoney}}{{Cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/01/mobile-internet-use-passes-desktop-for-the-first-time-study-finds/ |title=Mobile internet use passes desktop for the first time, study finds |first=Darrell |last=Etherington |date=1 November 2016}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Pivotal-moments-in-2014--when-mobile-overtook-desktop |title=Pivotal moments in 2014: when mobile overtook desktop |website=phocuswire.com}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2014/07/08/mobile-now-exceeds-pc-the-biggest-shift-since-the-internet-began/ |title=Mobile Now Exceeds PC: The Biggest Shift Since the Internet Began |date=8 July 2014 |website=Search Engine Watch}}{{Cite web |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/press/mobile-and-tablet-internet-usage-exceeds-desktop-for-first-time-worldwide |title=Mobile and tablet internet usage exceeds desktop for first time worldwide |website=StatCounter Global Stats}} 3D printers also emerged in the 2010s and were referenced or used in pop culture during the decade.
In 2018, during the Falcon Heavy test flight, the first production car was launched into space. The car was attached to the Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket in operation at the time,{{Cite web |last=Salazar |first=Doris Elin |date=2018-02-06 |title=SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket: By the Numbers |url=https://www.space.com/39603-spacex-falcon-heavy-rocket-by-the-numbers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206145556/https://www.space.com/39603-spacex-falcon-heavy-rocket-by-the-numbers.html |archive-date=2018-02-06 |access-date= |website=space.com}} which side boosters successfully landed back on Earth after completing their portion of the mission.
File:2011-02-10-iPhone-4.JPG|The 2010s saw the release of smaller and earlier iPhone iterations, as during the 2010s newer smartphones began to replace clamshell phones (flip phones). Phones of the 2010s mostly saw the usage of 3G and 4G technologies.
File:iPod Earbuds.JPG|Many earlier iPhones would be released bundled with wired earbuds.
File:Redbox kiosk in front of a Loaf 'N Jug in Gillette, Wyoming.jpg| DVDs continued to be used throughout the 2010s decade, as new DVD rental pop-ups like Redbox appeared.
File:Nintendo-3ds-ds-cartridge.jpg|Nintendo DS and 3DS cartridges as would be used to play handheld video games earlier in the decade, before the later release of the hybrid Nintendo Switch system in 2017.
Cyber security and hacking
{{See also|Category:Hacking in the 2010s}}
Cyber security incidents, such as hacking, leaks or theft of sensitive information, gained increased attention of governments, corporations and individuals.
File:Edward_Snowden-2.jpg, former NSA employee who revealed a large number of global surveillance programs.]]
File:Jurgen Mossack.jpg, co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, which shut down in light of revelations from the Panama Papers.]]
Health and society
{{Main|2010s in health and society}}
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 by the end of the decade only two cases had been cured.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/health/aids-cure-london-patient.html |work=The New York Times |title=H.I.V. Is Reported Cured in a Second Patient, a Milestone in the Global AIDS Epidemic |date=4 March 2019}} With good treatment patients can generally expect normal lives and lifespans. However, {{as of|2011|lc=y}} only some 5 million of the 12 million affected people had access to such treatment.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/30-years-later-an-end-to-aids/ |work=Fox News |title=30 Years Later: An End to AIDS? |date=2 June 2011}}
During the 2010s, social changes included increases in life expectancy and falling birth rates leading to larger proportions of the population being elderly. This put pressure on pensions and other social security programs in developed nations. The environment became a topic of greater public concern around the world.{{cite web |date=5 November 2015 |title=Global Concern about Climate Change, Broad Support for Limiting Emissions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/11/05/global-concern-about-climate-change-broad-support-for-limiting-emissions/ |publisher=Pew Research Centre's Global Attitudes Project |access-date=29 June 2020}} Many parts of the world moved towards greater acceptance of LGBT people often including the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The internet took an ever greater role in entertainment, communication, politics and commerce, especially for younger people and those living in wealthier countries. In 2011, the world population reached seven billion people.{{cite news |date=26 October 2011 |title=Population seven billion: UN sets out challenges |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15459643 |access-date=30 October 2011}}
Popular culture
{{Main|2010s in culture}}{{Cleanup gallery|date=July 2023}}
File:Unicorn Silly Bandz Macro July 09, 2010.jpg|Silly Bandz, a piece of pop culture and fashion wear in the early 2010s. They were often traded and worn by school children.
File:Nancy Scarrow, longtime Queen of UFV Halloween, as a minion (15490955179).jpg|Disney, Pixar, and Illumination led CGI films during the decade, making some of the highest-grossing movies of all time like Toy Story 3, Frozen, Incredibles 2 and Despicable Me. Other studios released CGI films like The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
File:Paley Center for Media - Big Bang Theory (6926334476).jpg|The Big Bang Theory, which was popular in the 2010s, became the top sitcom throughout its airing on CBS. The show featured numerous pop-culture figures from science and tech, including Bill Gates, Buzz Aldrin, and Elon Musk.
File:Child with spinner (34074347651).jpg|A young child spinning a fidget spinner, one of the most popular toys of the decade from spring and summer of 2017, joining novelty toys of the 2010s such as the fidget cube.
File:Nintendo-3DS-AquaOpen.png|The Nintendo 3DS, a portable 3D gaming device that contained glasses-free 3D and was released during the height of the 3D fad in the 2010s. Its flagship title was Super Mario 3D Land.
File:Apple iPhone 5c (15028870216).jpg|Smartphones and tablets started to replace flip-phones and become mainstream. They could be used to play games, make telephone calls, download music, and check the Internet. The iPad was first introduced in 2010 by Steve Jobs, who later died in 2011.
File:Wii-Mini-Console-Set-H.jpg|The Wii (Wii Mini c. 2013 pictured) was a popular gaming console in the 2010s which influenced the Microsoft Kinect and PlayStation Move. One of the most critically acclaimed games of the decade, Super Mario Galaxy 2, released on the Wii.
File:Social media.png|A cultural shift was that social media heavily took over. For really the first time in history, US presidents like Barack Obama and Donald Trump could communicate directly to citizens via applications like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
File:Red self-balancing two-wheeled board with a person standing on it.png|A self-balancing scooter. These devices (also named hoverboards at the time) attracted much attention and curiosity around 2015 on the Internet from appearing on shows such as Jimmy Fallon and Conan.
File:Bruno Mars portrait.jpg|Fedora hats were popular at the beginning of the 2010s, worn here by Bruno Mars in 2011, singer of "Uptown Funk" (the Billboard Hot 100's #1 song of the 2010s).
File:Pokémon Go Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.jpg|A public stop or "Pokéstop" for the game Pokémon Go. The game made use of AR, or augmented reality, and became huge in the summer of 2016.
File:Kent Logsdon uses a virtual reality headset, 2018.jpg|Two men using cell phones placed inside VR headsets in 2018. The same year Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One released, which featured Vive Virtual Reality headsets and helped advance motion capture.
File:PS4-Console-wDS4.png|The eighth generation of video game consoles like PlayStation 4 (pictured), Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch were released in 2013 and 2017. These systems popularized games like The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V.
File:HS-TXQ (30328494464).jpg|Cartoons like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, PAW Patrol, The Loud House and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic were among some of the most popular TV shows of the 2010s.
File:Juul flavour multipack (cropped).jpg|In the late 2010s, vaping became popular. Fruit-flavored vape cartridges could be purchased as well, and became highly controversial. It is still very bad for human health.
File:Vaporwave for China.jpg|Vaporwave was a 2010s music genre that attracted attention. Lofi hip-hop was also new and grew a following. Floral Shoppe and Lofi Girl helped define these genres of the 2010s.
File:Synthwave.svg|Synthwave was another music genre that achieved mainstream popularity during the 2010s, having been used in numerous popular films, TV shows and video games of the decade. It was inspired by the music and aesthetics of the 1980s.
File:Do the Dab.jpg|A group of teens dabbing, a popular fad and gesture of the youth around 2015–2016. Dabbing was the most prominent dance trend of the 2010s, which joined such dances as Flossing and the Harlem Shake.
File:Emoji group.jpg|A group of emojis. The 2010s saw the first usage of modern emoticons or "emojis" which were often on the operating systems of phones and computers.
File:ITunes Gift Cards US.jpg|With the infancy of mobile gaming stores in the early 2010s, apps like Doodle Jump, Angry Birds and Cut the Rope became hits, with the success of apps like Smash Hit and Pokémon Go coming later on.
File:Cj Jeff.jpg|The EDM scene obtained commercial success as seen with songs like "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. The early 2010s had a unique party culture that was inspired by EDM.
File:Mitksi (46927283182).jpg|In the 2010s indie artists gained much wider traction online. A few popular indie artists of the decade included talents such as Mitski (pictured), Gotye, Mac DeMarco, Tame Impala, and Foster the People.
File:Rio 2016 Wrestling 139505251057109418387484.jpg|Five Olympic Games were held in the 2010s: Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Pyeongchang in 2018.
File:Katy Perry - Super Bowl XLIX Halftime 02.jpg|Dance-pop is one of the musical genres that was dominant during the 2010s. It's performed by songsters such as Katy Perry.
=Fashion=
{{main|2010s in fashion}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2023}}
File:Lady Gaga The Edge of Glory GMA2 (cropped).jpg was a fashion icon of the era]]
Fashion of the 2010s became slimmer-fit and slightly more formal compared to previous decades. In addition, people's handheld devices such as cellphones (and their colorful cases), selfie sticks (for a brief period during the middle of the decade), tech-like Beats headphones, smart watches, wired and by the end of the decade wireless ear buds, as well as handheld gaming systems became more prevalent personal items.
The decade was also defined by new hipster fashion (hipster styles were marked by the wearing of knit beanies, checkered shirts, and clothes from thrift stores; as well as hobbies like horticulture, photography, and specialty coffee) athleisure, and a revival of austerity-era and other nostalgic alternative fashion trends (such as 1980s-style neon streetwear in the first part of the decade, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge).
In 2018, a subculture of "e-kids" came into existence, whom took their style from Japanese street fashion, cosplay, skater aesthetic, and other pieces of pop culture. In contrast to the colorful subculture of "e-kids" later in the decade, the early 2010s saw the Emo revival.
In the United States, political fashion became a genre of fashion starting around 2016, as people wore hats like MAGA hats (popularized by political outsider, prior TV-star and businessman President Donald Trump), as well as the Pussyhat. These two pieces of fashion wear would be popularized in the 2010s in popular culture on television and further, but would become controversial in their own right.
The decade sparked many smaller fashion movements, notable examples including Cottagecore and Normcore (a notable icon of Normcore in the 2010s was Steve Jobs, whom represented the decade's casual clothing). Fad toys and accessories like the Fidget spinner, Silly Bandz, and Shutter shades each had waves of popularity among youth throughout the decade. Funko Pops were a collectible fad during the 2010s.
=Internet=
Internet users grew from covering 29% to 54% of the world population.{{Cite web |title=Share of the population using the Internet |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-individuals-using-the-internet |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Our World in Data}}
Over the course of the 2010s, Baidu, Twitter and Instagram emerged to become among the top 10 most visited websites (becoming the 4th, 6th and 8th most popular websites by the end of the decade), while Wikipedia went the 9th to 5th most popular website, almost sextupling its monthly visits (from 1 to 5.7 billion). Meanwhile, Yahoo significantly declined in popularity, descending from being the 1st to 9th most popular site, with monthly visits declining by two-thirds (going from 11.6 to 3.9 billion). Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yandex maintained relatively consistent popularity and remained within the top 10 throughout the decade.{{Cite web |last=Eagle |first=James |date=2022-09-09 |title=Animation: The Most Popular Websites by Web Traffic (1993–2022) |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/most-popular-websites-by-web-traffic/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Visual Capitalist}} In 2015, Discord, one of the largest instant messaging social platforms was launched.{{cite web|url=https://hackernoon.com/how-discord-became-the-most-successful-us-consumer-app-in-the-last-5-years-gw8q3zai|title=How Discord Became the Most Successful US Consumer App in the Last 5 Years|website=HackerNoon|date=27 May 2020}}
=Film=
{{main|2010s in film}}
In January 2010, James Cameron's Avatar surpassed $1 billion in sales, becoming the first movie of the decade to do so, and surpassed $2 billion in sales by February 2010. The following year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 became one of the fastest grossing films of all time, and became the highest-grossing film of 2011. 2019's Joker became the first R rated movie to gross over $1 billion and cemented itself in popular culture by making the "Joker Stairs" a famous tourist destination in New York City at the end of the decade. Motion capture grew in terms of its realism and reach, and was seen in movies like Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Avengers, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.{{Cite web |last=Parisi |first=Paula |date=21 February 2019 |title='Ready Player One' Juxtaposes Real, Virtual Via VFX From Three Shops |url=https://variety.com/2019/artisans/production/spielberg-ready-player-one-vfx-1203144265/ |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=Variety}}
== Superhero films and franchises ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
Superhero films became box office leaders, especially with the start of The Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 with movies such as the Avengers franchise.{{Cite web |last=published |first=Sarah El-Mahmoud |date=2024-09-01 |title=I Went To Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga Concert Experience With 15,000 Fans And The Show Made Me Lose My Mind For 7 Epic Reasons |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/superheroes/marvel-cinematic-universe/marvel-studios-infinity-saga-concert-experience-15000-fans-7-epic-reasons-iron-man-tom-holland-fantastic-4-avengers |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Cinemablend |language=en}}
Marvel's main competitor, DC Extended Universe also began to produce superhero films starting in 2013, with films such as Justice League releasing in 2017.
Non-shared universe superhero films were also successful with the release of The Dark Knight Rises in addition to animated films such as Incredibles 2, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Batman Movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and many others.
== Other prominent franchises ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
The epic space-opera franchise Star Wars saw a resurgence throughout its decade with the third trilogy aka the sequel trilogy of the franchise and the final act of the "Skywalker Saga". These films include Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with all of them raking in over $4 billion with the first movie became the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time at its release.
The science fiction Universal franchise Jurassic Park also saw a resurgence and popularity with the release of Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Both of these films each garnered over $1 billion in revenue with the first film became the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time and the second film became the 12th highest-grossing film of all time. Critical reception of the first movie was positive while the second movie had mixed reviews from critics and negative reviews from fans.
The action racing heist spy franchise The Fast and the Furious continued on from the 2000s and became commercially successful in the 2010s becoming one of Universal's biggest franchises besides Jurassic Park and was the eighth highest-grossing film series. Films include Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, and The Fate of the Furious.
== Other films and genres ==
The horror film It, which was based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, became the highest-grossing horror film of all time.{{Cite news |date=25 April 2012 |title=Pixar's Brave to debut new Dolby Atmos sound system |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17840821 |access-date=8 December 2020}} 2018 saw the acclaimed Halloween sequel, Halloween, the 11th installment of the Halloween franchise and sequel to the first film, Halloween.
Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony Pictures Animation have dominated the animated films market and have also gained popularity in this decade. The highest-grossing and critically successful franchises included Toy Story, Frozen, How to Train Your Dragon, The Lego Movie, and Despicable Me. Other critically and commercially successful films released in this decade included The Illusionist, Loving Vincent, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Inside Out, Klaus, ParaNorman, Moana, Hair Love, Kubo and the Two Strings, Coco, Paperman, In a Heartbeat, Big Hero 6, Brave, Planes: Fire and Rescue, My Life as a Courgette, The Red Turtle, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Isle of Dogs, Song of the Sea, and Ernest & Celestine.
The 2010s saw the release of many Disney live-action remakes based on Disney animated movies: Alice in Wonderland and its sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Maleficent and its sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Lady and the Tramp, Christopher Robin, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Many of these movies were met with mixed reviews from critics and audiences but were financially successful at the box office, especially The Lion King which grossed over $1.6 billion and became the 7th-highest-grossing film of all time as well as the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 2019.
Disney also produced many live action films based on their theme park attractions and on other existing IP. This included movies like Tomorrowland, A Wrinkle In Time, Into The Woods, John Carter, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Lone Ranger. Most of these films received mixed responses from critics audiences and were generally unsuccessful at the box office, though in retrospect some of these films (particularly Tomorrowland) have come to be viewed as "cult classics" or "emerging cult classics".
Biographical movies about scientists, such The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game and Hidden Figures, received much critical and commercial success throughout the decade.
== Acclaimed movies ==
The decade also saw many popular and critically acclaimed theatrical releases of varying genres, such as The Social Network, Her, 12 Years a Slave, Boyhood, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Edge of Seventeen, The Fault in Our Stars, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Artist, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Easy A, Rust and Bone, Two Days, One Night, Whiplash, 21 Jump Street, Eighth Grade, Steve Jobs, Paddington and its sequel Paddington 2, Lady Bird, La La Land, Green Book, Get Out, Parasite, Love, Simon, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Uncut Gems.
The critically acclaimed movies of the 2010s mentioned above set new precedents. Movies like Boyhood (2014) were filmed over the span of a decade in real time to show the growth and childhood of a young boy, and Uncut Gems (2019) brought Adam Sandler back to a wide screen release and was critically acclaimed, while teenage movies like The Edge of Seventeen (2016), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) gained large popularity. Her (2013) became Spike Jonze's highest-grossing and most critically acclaimed movie, noted for its filming locations and art direction, Two Days, One Night (2014) became the Dardenne brothers' highest-grossing film{{Cite web |title=Two Days, One Night |url=https://mspfilm.org/films-and-events/two-days-one-night/ |access-date=26 May 2023 |website=MSP Film Society |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322054148/https://mspfilm.org/films-and-events/two-days-one-night/ |url-status=live }} and the first to receive an Oscar nomination,{{Cite web |last=Gilman |first=Sean |date=6 February 2015 |title=Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2014) |url=https://seattlescreenscene.com/2015/02/06/two-days-one-night-jean-pierre-luc-dardenne-2014/ |website=Seattle Screen Scene}} with Marion Cotillard becoming the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar for a Belgian film.{{Cite web |date=18 October 2018 |title=Oscars: 40 Foreign-Language Performances That Competed at the Academy Awards {{!}} Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night" (2014) |url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/oscars-40-foreign-language-performances-that-competed-at-the-academy-awards/one-night-two-days-2014/ |website=IndieWire |quote=Cotillard’s nomination made her the first actor or actress in a Belgian film to compete for the Oscar. |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527080100/https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/oscars-40-foreign-language-performances-that-competed-at-the-academy-awards/one-night-two-days-2014/ |url-status=live}} Parasite (2019) became the first foreign film to win best picture, and movies like Ready Player One (2018) helped advance motion capture technologies (winning two Outstanding Achievement Awards from the Visuals Effects Society and a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film), in addition to becoming one of Spielberg's highest-grossing films.
=Television=
{{main|2010s in television}}
The 2010s decade is often said to be a part of the Golden Age of Television, due to the widespread quality of multiple shows, as well as advancements in technology leading to streaming, cable television, and online outlets bringing this quality and quantity of programming. Cable providers saw a decline in subscriber numbers as cord-cutting viewers switched to lower-cost online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=19 February 2020 |title=Traditional Pay-TV Operators Lost Record 6 Million Subscribers in 2019 as Cord-Cutting Picks Up Speed |url=https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/cable-satellite-tv-2019-cord-cutting-6-million-1203507695/ |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=Variety}} On cable television, as well as streaming services, a variety of shows gained popularity.
== Live-action TV ==
The comedy sitcom The Big Bang Theory ran for the entirety of the decade, and was the number-one television sitcom for all of its airing prior to its finale in 2019. Other sitcoms like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Will & Grace, The Office, Scrubs: Med School, and Netflix's Trailer Park Boys and its Out Of The Park: USA and Out Of The Park: Europe specials were popular in the 2010s. How I Met Your Mother (narrated by Bob Saget) gained controversy for its 2014 finale, "Last Forever", which sparked an alternate finale to be created for the show, a television-first. Cult shows like the dark comedy sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia carried its popularity from the 2000s and lasted through the entirety of the 2010s. CBS's Two Broke Girls began its run in 2011 (ending in 2017), its pilot being the highest watched on the network in a decade. In 2011, Charlie Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men, who made his last appearance in the show in Season 8 during February 2011. Sheen's 2011 outbursts and firing from the show were highly publicized.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Toni |date=17 May 2019 |title=How Do 'The Big Bang Theory' Series Finale Ratings Rank All Time? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2019/05/17/how-does-the-big-bang-theory-series-finale-ratings-rank-all-time/ |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=Forbes}} Indian sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah became the world's longest-running sitcom, with over 2,500 episodes,{{Cite web |title=Longest-running sitcom (by episode count) |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/90109-longest-running-sitcom-by-episode-count |website=Guinness World Records |date=2 July 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah set to clock 3000 'happysodes';making it 'world's longest running daily family comedy show' |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tv/taarak-mehta-ka-ooltah-chashmah-set-to-clock-3000-happysodes-asit-kumarr-modi-thanks-team-for-making-it-worlds-longest-running-daily-family-comedy-show/articleshow/78254167.cms |website=Mumbai Mirror}}
Dramas like Breaking Bad (2008–2013), The Walking Dead (2010–2022), Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul (2015–2022) became some of the most popular American television series of all time. Stranger Things gained a massive following during the decade among teen and youth, and 2019's Stranger Things 3 gained even more recognition for the character of Robin Buckley, who was popularized online.
Science fiction television gained a renewed sense of interest, thanks in part to Black Mirror was popularized on Netflix after being broadcast on British television.
A new era of family television and tween television existed in the 2010s, sitcoms of which were mainly spearheaded by Disney and Nickelodeon, but also appeared on cable channels such as ABC (The Middle on ABC for example) and on streaming services like Netflix. Shows such as Nickelodeon's iCarly and Victorious, and Disney's Girl Meets World were notable examples of popular shows among tween and youth throughout the 2010s. The short-lived 2018 revival of Roseanne (a family sitcom on ABC) gained attention for the firing of its main star Roseanne Barr and her outbursts.
== Reality television ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
Reality television grew an increased following during the decade. Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen (UK), and Hotel Hell gained popularity on cable television, as well as getting millions of views on YouTube, making Gordon Ramsay a prominent celebrity chef. America's Got Talent drew in viewers when radio personality Howard Stern announced his joining of the show in late 2011, staying as host until 2015. Meanwhile, popular reality programming on ABC included What Would You Do?, Shark Tank and The Bachelor. Corinne Olympios also gained recognition on the 2017 season of The Bachelor for her behavior on set. American Idol remained popular into the beginning of the decade, as did The Voice. Impractical Jokers flourished throughout the 2010s, gaining exposure on YouTube and elsewhere. TMZ became a popular television show and news source in the 2010s on cable television and YouTube respectively. A genre of pawn shows emerged like Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn.
The Apprentice was a reality television show that starred media personality and businessman Donald Trump as host until 2015, at which time he resigned as host. Trump would use the success he gained on The Apprentice to run for President of the United States; which he was elected to in 2016. Additionally, programs such as The Celebrity Apprentice, Comedy Central's The Roast Of Donald Trump, and Donald Trump's November 2015 hosting of Saturday Night Live, would send the reality TV star and businessman into the spotlight to help win the U.S. presidency. Governor in the early 2010s and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger took Trump's place on The Celebrity Apprentice.
== Animation ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
Popular cartoons were dominated by Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel during the decade. Popular cartoons of the 2010s included the likes of Adventure Time, The Loud House, Regular Show, Steven Universe, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Gravity Falls, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Over the Garden Wall, The Amazing World of Gumball, Big City Greens, Lego Ninjago and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (which, under its G4 status, became a pop culture phenomenon in its own right, thanks to its controversial, but loyal cult following known as "Bronies" who peaked in 2012–2015), along with long-running cartoons SpongeBob SquarePants, Phineas and Ferb, and Arthur. SpongeBob also made headlines for the petition and attempts to get "Sweet Victory" played at the 2019 Super Bowl after the passing of its series creator Stephen Hillenburg. Nickelodeon brought back three classic Nicktoons; Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life (which was themed around late 2010s culture), and Invader Zim near the end of the decade, turning them into reboot films.
Nick Jr., Disney Junior and PBS Kids led mainstream educational cartoons with many popular shows including Paw Patrol, Octonauts, Wild Kratts, Bubble Guppies, Sofia The First, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Miles From Tomorrowland, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Team Umizoomi, Dinosaur Train, Chuggington,
Anime broadened its appeal worldwide with shows such as Attack on Titan, Akame ga Kill!, Assassination Classroom, Future Diary, Deadman Wonderland, Madoka Magica, Mob Psycho 100, Darling in the Franxx, Dragon Ball Super, Fairy Tail, Gate, Black Clover, Tokyo Ghoul, Given, KonoSuba, Food Wars!, Haikyu!!, Sailor Moon Crystal, Seraph of the End, One Piece, Overlord, Kaguyasama: Love is War, Bleach, Hunter × Hunter, One Punch Man, Little Witch Academia, Devilman Crybaby, My Hero Academia, JoJo's Bizzarre Adventure, Vinland Saga, Parasyte -the maxim-, Re:Zero and Steins;Gate, separately Japanese reality shows like Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City reached new and international audiences because of the use of the internet and streaming services (it was Netflix's first international release and one of their earliest international releases). As a result of anime's international popularity it has inspired many creators outside of Japan to create their own shows incorporating anime characteristics. Anime elements can be seen in shows like The Boondocks. Anime was also viewed on services of the era like Crunchyroll and Funimation .
Newer adult animation grew rapidly throughout the decade with shows such as Rick and Morty, F Is for Family, BoJack Horseman, Superjail! (continuing from the 2000s), Big Mouth, and Bob's Burgers among many others; while long-running adult animations like Family Guy, Futurama, South Park, The Simpsons, Robot Chicken, and 2011's Beavis and Butt-Head revival have remained popular.
=YouTube=
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2023}}
The video streaming website YouTube became popular, especially among younger people, as memes shifted the meaning of entertainment. Memes like Nyan Cat, Dat Boi, "We Are Number One", Trollface, Pepe the Frog, bottle flipping, Condescending Wonka (Gene Wilder died in 2016), emerged on YouTube; the use of YouTube and the internet also lead to new and popular vernacular like: poggers, bae, Netflix and chill, "chillax" (a conbo of "chill" and "relax") and "on fleek".
Initially (early in the decade) channels like Fred Figglehorn (FRED), The Annoying Orange, Ray William Johnson, CollegeHumor, Smosh, PewDiePie and the Angry Video Game Nerd attracted millions of views, channels and videos becoming viral on the site. The popularity of YouTubers even ended up spawning films based on popular YouTubers, including Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014), Smosh: The Movie (2015), and the Fred Trilogy (2010–2012) starting with Fred: The Movie. These YouTubers became well known through comedic skits, video game reviews, and "Let's Play" videos, as Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed games like Sonic The Hedgehog for the Xbox 360, and Life of Black Tiger for the PlayStation 4, which AVGN reviewed in a video featuring Gilbert Gottfried, Smosh would upload skits like "FOOD BATTLE" and Pewdiepie would play games such as Five Nights at Freddy's.{{Cite web |last=Dredge |first=Stuart |date=3 February 2016 |title=Why are YouTube stars so popular? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/03/why-youtube-stars-popular-zoella |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=The Guardian}}{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Ben |title=YouTube now has over 1.8 billion users every month, within spitting distance of Facebook's 2 billion |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-user-statistics-2018-5 |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=Business Insider}}
Children's content on YouTube was largely dominated by kid-made content involving kids unboxing toys and going on adventures. Many popular channels in this style included Ryan's World, ToyLabTV, Extreme Toys TV and Vlad and Niki. Nerf battles were also a very popular trend on YouTube.
Several new videos and series that debuted on YouTube in the 2010s and achieved popularity included Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, Double Rainbow, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Game Grumps, and Critical Role.
Other YouTubers that constantly received views within the millions or went viral during the decade included the likes of bill wurtz for his "history of japan" and "history of the entire world i guess" videos (and music like "and the day goes on"), Swoozie, Etika (and his fanbase the "JOYCONBOYZ"), REACT, WatchMojo, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Nostalgia Critic, Studio C, Babish Culinary Universe, Good Mythical Morning, Penguinz0, Vsauce, CGP Gray, Kurzgesagt, Matpat, MrBeast, Scott the Woz, TheOdd1sOut, Domics, and Jaiden Animations among many others. YouTube itself would even end up banning controversial content creators like ImJayStation and LeafyIsHere during the decade.
YouTube would make an annual video series called YouTube Rewind where it would be a recap of each year's YouTubers, viral videos, trends, events, music and memes starting from 2010 to 2019. The 2018 and 2019 installments was heavily criticized by YouTubers, critics, and viewers alike, receiving millions of dislikes. Rewind did not return for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and YouTube announced the following year that the series would be discontinued leading to other YouTubers to make their own YouTube Rewind videos.
=Music=
{{Main|2010s in music}}
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Globalism and an increased demand for variety and personalisation in the face of music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music created many new subgenres. US digital music sales topped CD sales in 2012.{{Cite web |last=Halliday |first=Josh |date=6 January 2012 |title=Digital downloads overtake physical music sales in the US for first time |url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jan/06/downloads-physical-sales-us |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=The Guardian}} Dance, hip-hop, and pop music surged in the 2010s,{{Cite magazine |last=Leight |first=Elias |date=3 January 2019 |title=Hip-Hop Continued to Dominate the Music Business in 2018 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/hip-hop-continued-to-dominate-the-music-business-in-2018-774422/ |access-date=8 December 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} with hip-hop and R&B surpassing rock as the biggest US music genre in 2018.{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-music-2017-idUSKBN1ET258 |title=Hip hop and R&B surpass rock as biggest U.S. music genre |newspaper=Reuters |date=4 January 2018 |via=reuters.com}}
== Genres ==
Electronic dance music (EDM) achieved mass commercial success in the middle of the decade but fell somewhat into decline by the end.{{Cite web |last=Alvarado |first=Abel |date=30 October 2015 |title=It's a $6.2B industry but, how did EDM get so popular? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/18/world/how-did-edm-get-so-popular/index.html |access-date=8 December 2020 |website=CNN}}{{Cite magazine |last=Smirke |first=Richard |date=23 May 2019 |title=Is The Party Over? EDM's Share of US Record Market Falls As DJ Earnings Slip to Five-Year Low |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8512892/edm-dance-music-share-us-recorded-music-market-share-ims-report |magazine=Billboard |access-date=8 December 2020}} The mass global appeal of EDM music (and subgenres such as dubstep, electro house and trap) from the early-to-mid part of the decade spawned the rise in fame of DJs and digital music producers, such as Skrillex, Tiësto, Avicii, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Baauer and Diplo.
Country music also saw a resurgence throughout the 2010s in the United States, with artists like Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton and Florida Georgia Line topping the charts and garnering many music industry awards.
With the rise of the internet in the 2010s, independent music (or "indie music") gained a large international cult following, with successful indie bands being Foster the People, Dr. Dog, Tally Hall, Florence and the Machine, Beach House, Alt-J, Of Monsters and Men, the National, Two Door Cinema Club, and M83; as well as successful indie solo artists being Tame Impala, Neil Cicierega, St. Vincent, Father John Misty, Ellie Goulding, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Lana Del Rey, Justin Vernon and Lorde.
== Artists ==
Music artists like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj (with their albums such as The Fame Monster, 1989, My World 2.0, Teenage Dream, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Loud and Pink Friday respectively) increased the global commercial appeal of pop music in the 2010s, with each of them selling over 100 million records in the 2010s and becoming some of the best-selling musicians of all time.
Billboard named Drake the top artist of the decade in the US.{{Cite magazine |date=31 October 2019 |title=Top Artists |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/top-artists/ |magazine=Billboard}}{{Refn|group=note|name=billboard}} Other popular musical solo artists of the 2010s included Adele, Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, the Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Khalid, Sam Smith, Travis Scott, Cardi B, Future, Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, Kesha, Selena Gomez and Fetty Wap.
Popular musical groups of the decade included One Direction, BTS, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, Twenty One Pilots, Migos, Swedish House Mafia, Bon Iver, Zac Brown Band, Maroon 5, Alabama Shakes, the Chainsmokers, OneRepublic, Vampire Weekend, the Lumineers, Lady A, Fun, 5 Seconds of Summer and Anthem Lights.
Successful duos included the Black Keys, Run the Jewels, Matt and Kim, Rae Sremmurd, Love and Theft, LMFAO, Garfunkel and Oates and Dan + Shay.
Several prominent musicians from past decades died in the 2010s, including Ronnie James Dio in 2010, Gil Scott-Heron and Amy Winehouse in 2011, Whitney Houston and Adam Yauch in 2012, Lou Reed in 2013, Joe Cocker in 2014, Ben E. King, B. B. King and Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Phife Dawg, Merle Haggard, Prince, Pete Burns, Leonard Cohen and George Michael all in 2016, Chuck Berry, Chris Cornell, Prodigy and Tom Petty in 2017, Aretha Franklin in 2018, and Keith Flint in 2019. There were also several deaths of newer hip-hop artists who had started or first became successful in the 2010s, including Capital Steez, Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, Mac Miller, Nipsey Hussle, Juice Wrld and others.
=Video games=
{{Main|2010s in video games}}
== Video game companies and products ==
The video game industry continued to be dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft; Minecraft became the best-selling game of all time in 2019.{{Cite web |last=Macgregor |first=Jody |date=19 May 2019 |title=Minecraft has sold 176 million copies, may be the best-selling game ever |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-has-sold-176-million-copies-may-be-the-best-selling-game-ever/ |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=PC Gamer}}
Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One were released in 2013,{{Cite news |date=15 November 2013 |title=PlayStation 4 v Xbox One: Experts on next-gen battle |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-24899400 |access-date=9 December 2020}} and in the United States the PlayStation 4 became the highest-selling console of the decade, surpassing Nintendo, releasing games such as Marvel's Spider-Man, God of War, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, and Bloodborne.{{Cite web |date=16 January 2020 |title=PlayStation 4 was the best-selling hardware of the decade |url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/16/ps4-hardware-of-the-decade/ |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=VentureBeat}} The Nintendo Switch launched in 2017 and was responsible for bringing Nintendo's success back, the success of the console initially spawned by the strong sales of both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, as well as Wii U ports/sequels with Super Mario Maker (Wii U) and Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo Switch), Splatoon (Wii U) and Splatoon 2 (Nintendo Switch), and updated "Deluxe" versions of Mario Kart 8 and New Super Mario Bros. U, among many others. Micro-consoles also emerged during the decade, a notable example being the Ouya, a system which was a commercial and critical failure that received attention online.
Since 2013, console game revenue was overtaken by PC gaming revenue.{{cite web|url=https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/pc-gaming/50-years-of-pc-vs-console-gaming-revenue-visualized-pc-maintains-lead-over-consoles-vr-mobile-and-handheld-market-data-included|title=50 years of PC vs console gaming revenue visualized, PC maintains lead over consoles - VR, mobile, and handheld market data included|website=Tom's Hardware|date=7 January 2024}}
Nvidia released the GeForce RTX 20 series in 2018, introducing ray tracing technology to PC gaming.{{cite web|url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/13249/nvidia-announces-geforce-rtx-20-series-rtx-2080-ti-2080-2070|title=NVIDIA Announces the GeForce RTX 20 Series: RTX 2080 Ti & 2080 on Sept. 20th, RTX 2070 in October|website=AnandTech|date=20 August 2018}} In December 2018 Epic Games launched the Epic Games Store in an attempt to compete with the largest digital distribution platform for PC games, Valve Corporation's Steam.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/7/18129563/epic-games-store-fortnite-valve-steam-competition-pc-gaming-distruibition|title=Why Epic's new PC game store is the Steam competitor the industry needed|website=The Verge|date=7 December 2018}}
Handheld gaming console revenue was overtaken by mobile gaming revenue in 2011, due to the rise of smartphones and freemium apps.{{Cite web |title=iOS games spending overtakes dedicated games |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/2013-05-16-ios-games-spending-overtakes-dedicated-games.html |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=sg.news.yahoo.com |date=16 May 2013}} The use of iPods, tablets, and cell phones became one of the most popular forms of gaming as the decade progressed with the rise of mobile games, expanding the industry's appeal among less traditional markets such as women and older adults. Gaming apps such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Plants vs. Zombies, Fruit Ninja, Candy Crush, Flappy Bird, Clash of Clans, Temple Run, Smash Hit, Doodle Jump, Geometry Dash, Subway Surfers, and Pokémon Go became huge hits.
The popularity of video games increased across the world, as the Nintendo Wii influenced gaming in the early part of the decade,{{Cite web |last=McFerran |first=Damien |date=30 December 2019 |title=Feature: 2010–2019 – Nintendo's Decade In Review |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/12/feature_2010-2019_-_nintendos_decade_in_review |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=Nintendo Life}} and the Nintendo 3DS provided 3D gaming through autostereoscopy.{{Cite news |date=17 September 2020 |title=Nintendo 3DS discontinued after almost a decade |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54191058 |access-date=9 December 2020}} The successful Wii was followed by the Wii U in 2012, a commercial failure. Ports and sequels to Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch would sell considerably better than their Wii U counterparts, and even though well-received games like Super Mario 3D World and Nintendo Land released on Wii U, the console still ultimately failed due to poor marketing and public confusion.{{Cite news |last=Stuart |first=Keith |date=2017-02-03 |title=RIP Wii U: Nintendo's glorious, quirky failure |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/03/rip-wii-u-nintendos-glorious-quirky-failure |access-date=2023-10-17 |issn=0261-3077}} The Nintendo Wii would be responsible for the most critically acclaimed game of the 2010s decade, Super Mario Galaxy 2 (which is also often considered one of the greatest video games of all time by game critics).
The Wii (and later to a lesser extent the Wii U) would singlehandedly cause the increased use of motion controls in gaming with its Wii line up of games such as Wii Play: Motion, Wii Fit U, Wii Sports Club, Wii Party and Wii Party U, all released in the 2010s. Motion controls would carry over to Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con in 2017, and would form the foundation of 2010's motion-based PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect, counterparts and competitors to the Wii. In addition to Super Mario Galaxy 2, it is notable in mentioning that Nintendo Wii released a large group of critically acclaimed games in the early 2010s with popular titles such as Kirby's Epic Yarn, Donkey Kong Country Returns (both games later in the decade released on 3DS), The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Sonic Colors; as well Portal 2 was a critical success on Xbox and PlayStation early in the decade.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Robert |date=January 2, 2020 |title=Mobile games sparked 60% of 2019 global game revenue, study finds |url=https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mobile-games-sparked-60-of-2019-global-game-revenue-study-finds/569658/ |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=Marketing Dive}}{{Cite web |title=Myth busting: Mobile Gaming demographics |url=https://www.mmaglobal.com/research/myth-busting-mobile-gaming-demographics |access-date=9 December 2020 |website=MMA}}
The 2010s marked the growth, release, and large expansion of the "Toys To Life" category. Brands such as Nintendo's Amiibo became massively popular, and allowed figurines to be bought which were scanned into games to level up, train your figurine, or receive goods for your figurine. The Amiibo skyrocketed in success due to the roster of figurines available for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with many posting videos of them online going "amiibo hunting" mostly around late 2014 and 2015. Skylanders and Disney Infinity also remained popular at the time, as fads. The Nintendo Labo released in 2018, was also a part of the "Toys To Life" brand of video games, using cardboard to create objects such as a fishing pole, a crank, and a race-car wheel to be played with games.
== Online and multiplayer games ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
By the early 2010s, online gaming had become a mainstay of console platforms such as Xbox and PlayStation. During the 2010s, as the number of Internet users increased, two new video game genres rapidly gained worldwide popularity – battle royales and multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) – both designed exclusively for multiplayer gameplay over the Internet. First-person shooters were also a popular genre before and during the decade. These genres are commonly played in esports.
Professional gaming, also known as esports, although well known in the 2000s, became tremendously big incurring a large increase in both viewership and prize money. By the late 2010s, it was estimated that the total audience of esports would grow to 454 million viewers, with revenue increasing to more than US$1 billion, with China accounting for 35% of the global esports revenue in 2020. The increasing availability of online streaming media platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch, have become central to the growth and promotion of esports competitions.
Since the 2010s, a common trend among online games has been operating them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop freely-offered games. Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special servers in order to function.
== Let's Plays ==
YouTube and Twitch became platforms for "Let's Players" to upload videos of themselves playing certain games, which led to the popularity of existing games and newer indie games like Cuphead, Doki Doki Literature Club!, Undertale, Terraria, Hotline Miami, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, The Binding of Isaac/The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Octodad/Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley, and Five Nights at Freddy's (indie games like Cuphead were lauded for its rubber hose animation style, while Undertale's soundtrack like "Megalovania" came to light and Five Nights At Freddy's became well known for its lore).
"Let's Players" were even referenced in greater pop culture such as the 2014 episode Rehash on South Park, where Pewdiepie would be featured onto the show. Jimmy Kimmel would make a sketch parody on his YouTube channel where he would ridicule the "let's plays" culture which led to backlash from the gaming community.
== Video games and movies ==
In the 2010s movies based on video game franchises became popular, grossing more and being talked about in the media and among fans more than ever before. Movies like Detective Pikachu starring Ryan Reynolds (which starred additional actors like Kathryn Newton as Lucy Stevens and Bill Nighy as Howard Clifford) broke box office records for movies based on game series at the time, while movies like Jim Carrey's debut in Sonic the Hedgehog created buzz in the media and on shows like Conan (where the film and its fans were satirized) in 2019 for the movie's depiction of a more realistic-looking hedgehog character, which by demand of the fans, was changed into a more cartoon version of the titular character to much like and approval upon the November 2019 trailer and movie's release.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
In early 2018 Nintendo and Illumination jointly announced (after the 2015 reveal of Nintendo's planned Universal theme parks) that they were working on a Super Mario Bros. movie. The announcement by Nintendo and Illumination was met with internet speculation; the new Illumination Super Mario film replaced the Sony–Nintendo Super Mario film that was leaked during the 2014 Sony Pictures hack.
Video game-themed movies became popular as well, with films such as Ready Player One, Pixels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Wreck-It Ralph, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.
The best-selling games of every year throughout this decade were as follows:
- 2010: Call of Duty: Black Ops{{Cite web |last=Webb |first=Kevin |date=2019-09-12 |title=The best-selling video game of every year, from 1995 to 2018 |url=https://www.businessinsider.nl/best-selling-video-game-every-year-2018-11/ |access-date=2021-06-29 |website=Business Insider |language=}}
- 2011: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- 2012: Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- 2013: Grand Theft Auto V
- 2014: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- 2015: Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- 2016: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
- 2017: Call of Duty: WWII
- 2018: Red Dead Redemption 2
- 2019: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare{{Cite web |last=Kain |first=Erik |date=17 January 2020 |title=The 20 Best-Selling Video Games Of 2019 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2020/01/17/the-20-best-selling-video-games-of-2019/ |access-date=2021-06-29 |website=Forbes}}
=Literature=
{{Main|2010s in literature}}
The best-selling book of the decade was Fifty Shades of Grey, having sold 15.2 million copies in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Temple |first=Emily |date=20 December 2019 |title=These are the 10 best-selling books of the decade. |url=https://lithub.com/these-are-the-10-best-selling-books-of-the-decade/ |access-date=18 July 2020 |website=Literary Hub}}
The following is a list of the 10 best-selling books of the decade. Note that global data is unavailable and this is limited to the United States:
- Fifty Shades of Grey – 15.2 million sales
- Fifty Shades Darker – 10.4 million sales
- Fifty Shades Freed – 9.3 million sales
- The Hunger Games – 8.7 million sales
- The Help – 8.7 million sales
- The Girl on the Train – 8.2 million sales
- Gone Girl – 8.1 million sales
- The Fault in Our Stars – 8 million sales
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 7.9 million sales
- Divergent – 6.6 million sales
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also became one of the best-selling book series of all time throughout the 2010s, with installments such as Cabin Fever and The Long Haul winning awards at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
In the comic book industry, Japanese manga would begin massively outselling western comics.{{cite news |title=Why are manga outselling superhero comics? |url=https://www.rutgers.edu/news/why-are-manga-outselling-superhero-comics |website=Rutgers Today |date=5 December 2019 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114025433/https://www.rutgers.edu/news/why-are-manga-outselling-superhero-comics |url-status=live }}
=Sports=
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
File:2011 IIHF World Championship gold medal celebrations in Helsinki3.jpg gold medal celebrations in Finland]]
File:LeBron James (15662939969).jpg, a sports icon of the decade, is the only NBA player to have won four championships with three separate franchises.]]
Popular athletes of the decade included Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Megan Rapinoe, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Álvarez, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Kyle Busch, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Mike Trout, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Shaun White, Kelly Slater, Simone Biles, Sidney Crosby and many more.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, tennis players John Isner and Nicolas Mahut competed in the longest professional tennis match in history, requiring five sets and 183 games for Isner to ultimately defeat Mahut in a match which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, and was played over the course of three days. The most dominant male Tennis Players were Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. Andy Murray was also successful in this decade. Amongst female Tennis, Venus and Serena Williams dominated proceedings.
A doping scandal and investigation that was concluded in 2012 led to former professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong being stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles.
On 14 October 2012, skydiver Felix Baumgartner completed a jump from the stratosphere and set world records for the highest skydive (39 km or 24 mi), fastest freefall speed (1,357.64 km/h or 843.6 mph, or Mach 1.25), and became the first person in history to break the sound barrier without vehicular power.
In 2015, after Thoroughbred racehorse American Pharoah won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic, he became 12th Triple Crown winner in history and the first in more than 30 years, and in winning all four races, became the first horse ever to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing.
In November 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908, over the then-Cleveland Indians. Their win, along with Game 7 and the entire 2016 Series, was heavily noted in the sports and baseball community. It is often considered one of the best World Series ever played, due to the underdog nature of both teams, how close the games were and especially the final game, and how it ultimately ended the over 100-year drought of the Cubs not winning a series.
In June 2017, rock climber Alex Honnold became the first person in history to free solo climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, an accomplishment that one commentator described as "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever."
In January 2018, the final play of an NFL playoffs game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, dubbed the "Minneapolis Miracle", became the first time in NFL playoffs history where a game ended in a touchdown as time expired, and prompted a change to the NFL's rules as they pertain to extra-point conversion attempts.
==Football==
Leicester City won a notable Premier League title in Club Football in 2015–16, with 5000/1 odds at the start of the season. Managers like José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jürgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Didier Deschamps, Antonio Conte, and Luis Enrique were influential during this era of football.
In International Football, there were three World Cups, with European sides winning all three, Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, and France in 2018. Of the finalists, only one was not European, Argentina in 2014. The other finalists were Croatia in 2018 and the Netherlands in 2010. South Africa hosted the first World Cup of the decade, followed by Brazil and then controversially, Russia in 2018. The Euros were the next biggest footballing tournaments of the decade, with Spain winning the 2012 edition held in Poland and Ukraine, retaining there title from 2008. Iberian dominance persisted in 2016 with Portugal winning their first Major Tournament against France in France. In the Copa America, Uruguay (2011), Chile (2015, 2016) and Brazil (2019) registered tournament wins. In terms of the Africa Cup of Nations, the winners were Egypt in 2010, Zambia in 2012, Nigeria in 2013, Ivory Coast in 2015, Cameroon in 2017, and Algeria in 2019.
Individual accolades were dominated by two players in particular, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. This inspired renewed focus on who the "goat" was, especially in an increasingly online population, with both players winning Ballon d'Ors: Messi with 5, and Ronaldo with 4. The only other player to win a Ballon d'Or this decade was Luka Modrić. The dominance of Ronaldo and Messi was a key feature of the decade, especially because the two players played in the same League for the majority of the decade, with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, and Messi at Barcelona. The two often met in the famous El Clásico fixture.
==Rugby==
Rugby was another well-attended sport in this decade. The landscape of club rugby saw the emergence of the Japanese theatre, with big players heading to Japan. Toulon versus Racing 92 in the 2015–16 Top 14 final broke records for club rugby when it clocked over 99,000 in attendance at Camp Nou in Barcelona.
International rugby saw the emergence of several new elite sides, with teams like Ireland as a new major player in the European sphere, and on a larger global sphere, where they peaked at Number 1 in 2019, Wales also saw significant improvement and wins, with their overall achievements leading to a stint at Number 1 in 2019. New Zealand and Japan made headlines during the decade, the latter by beating the South Africa national side in 2015. Wales, England, and Ireland dominated the Six Nations, though France did win in 2010. In the Rugby Championship, Argentina were admitted during the 2011 season, in a general surge in South American rugby, with Uruguay becoming established. New Zealand dominated the Rugby Championship, winning all but 2 of the tournaments, losing out in Rugby World Cup years. Italy earned wins versus France and Ireland as well as a shock win against South Africa alongside semi-regular wins against Scotland.
The Rugby World Cup was held three times in the 2010s, firstly in New Zealand in 2011, where hosts New Zealand beat France 8–7 in the final. New Zealand beat Australia in 2015, 34–17 to become the most successful world cup team and the first team to win Back-to-Back titles. Japan hosted the 2019 World Cup and South Africa, led by their first Black Captain, Siya Kolisi, won against England in the final 32–12. This was a World Cup of firsts, being the first in Asia, and because Japan progressed as top of their Group after famous wins versus Ireland and Scotland and were beaten only by the eventual winners in the Quarter final. It also saw Uruguay get their first World Cup win against Fiji. This world cup was the first one in which a team who had lost a group game won the tournament, with South Africa previously losing to New Zealand in pool play.
Analysis
As the decade drew to a close, some commentators looked back on it as a politically unstable period. An article in the New York Times stated: "With the rise of nationalist movements and a backlash against globalisation on both sides of the Atlantic, the liberal post-World War II order – based on economic integration and international institutions – began to unravel." It heavily discussed the US presidency of Donald Trump (a reality TV Star and businessman with no political experience at the time of taking office, succeeding Barack Obama) whilst also commenting, "Echoes of Mr. Trump's nationalist populism can be found in Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain's recent electoral victory and the Brexit referendum of 2016, and in the ascent of the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Democracy is under threat in Hungary and Poland. Once fringe right-wing parties with openly racist agendas are rebranding themselves in Sweden and Belgium. And far-right groups in Germany and Spain are now the third-largest parties in those nations' parliaments."{{Cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |date=27 December 2019 |title=Opinion {{!}} The 2010s Were the End of Normal |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/27/opinion/sunday/2010s-america-trump.html |access-date=26 September 2020 |issn=0362-4331}} A December 2019 piece in The Guardian argued that the 2010s would be remembered "as a time of crises", elaborating "there have been crises of democracy and the economy; of the climate and poverty; of international relations and national identity; of privacy and technology". The article also noted that, in Britain, "politics since 2010 has often been manic. Parties have hastily changed their leaders and policies; sometimes their entire guiding philosophies. Last week's general election was the fourth of the decade; the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s had two apiece."{{Cite news |last=Beckett |first=Andy |date=17 December 2019 |title=The age of perpetual crisis: how the 2010s disrupted everything but resolved nothing |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/17/decade-of-perpetual-crisis-2010s-disrupted-everything-but-resolved-nothing |access-date=26 September 2020 |issn=0261-3077}} Similar trends of political unrest were felt beyond the Western world, as suggested in The Asian Review, which described the 2010s as a "tumultuous time for Asia, sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant and never dull".{{Cite web |date=27 December 2019 |title=The 2010s in review: A decade of political and economic shocks |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/The-2010s-in-review-A-decade-of-political-and-economic-shocks |access-date=26 September 2020 |website=Nikkei Asian Review}}
See also
{{portal|2010s|Modern history}}
- List of decades
- Millennials (when the majority of that generation had reached maturity).
- Generation Z (when older members of that generation had entered adulthood in the decade's mid year).
The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:{{hlist|2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019}}
Notes
{{notelist}}{{Reflist|group=note}}{{reflist|group=note}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Strong, Jason. The 2010s: Looking Back at a Dramatic decade (2019)