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The 2010s, pronounced "twenty-tens"^[1] or "two thousand (and) tens",^[2][3][4][5] is the current decade which began on January 1, 2010 and will end on December 31, 2019. The decade is also called the second decade of the 21st century and 3rd millennium.^[6][7][8][9]

The decade began amidst a global financial crisis that started in the late 2000s, after approximately two and one half decades of prosperity, economic growth as well as income inequality, and increased globalization. In particular, the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis, which stemmed from these economic problems, first became pronounced in May 2010 and continues to threaten the possibility of a global recovery. Other economic issues such as inflation, and an increase in commodity prices, sparked immense unrest in many lower-income countries. In some countries, particularly Arabic ones, this unrest eventually evolved into socio-economic crises which set off numerous revolutions, such as in Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia in 2010, and Libya, Syria, and Egypt in 2011 and 2012. This widespread recent phenomenon is now known as the Arab Spring, and it still continues, as of June 2012.

Mixed pronunciation[link]

Among experts and the general public, there is some disagreement as to how specific years of the 21st century should be pronounced in English.^[10] While most people pronounced the years 2000 to 2009 as two thousand _", the pronunciation in the 2010s has been mixed. The year 2010, for example, was referred to by some as "twenty-ten" and by others as "two thousand (and) ten" and this mixed pronunciation continues as of 2012.^[11]

Politics and wars[link]

Wars[link]

The prominent wars of the decade so far include:

International wars[link]

• War on Terrorism (2001–present) – refers to several ideological, military, and diplomatic campaigns ostensibly aimed at putting an end to international terrorism by preventing groups defined by the US and its allies as "terrorist" (largely Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas) from posing a threat to the US and its allies, and by putting an end to state sponsorship of terrorism. The campaigns were launched by the United States, with support from NATO and other allies, immediately following the 11 September 2001 attacks which were carried out by al-Qaeda. Today the term has become mostly associated with US/UK-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • War in Afghanistan (2001–present) – In 2001, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada invaded Afghanistan seeking to oust the Taliban and find Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.
  • Iraq War (2003–2011) – On 19 August 2010, the last American combat brigade was moved out of Iraq after more than 7 years of warfare.[19] About 50,000 troops remained there through 2011, being designated as "advise and assist brigades" assigned to non-combat operations while retaining the ability to revert to combat operations as necessary. The war was declared formally over in December 2011.

• Arab–Israeli conflict (Early 20th century–present)
  • Israeli–Palestinian conflict (Early 20th century–present) – an ongoing armed conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The conflict is centred between the State of Israel and the Palestinians. One side is composed mainly of Israeli security forces and the other side is composed mostly of Palestinian militant or paramilitary forces such as Hamas, the Islamic Jihad Movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees (which have all been designated by the United States^[12] and European Union,^[13] Israel and many other western countries^[14][15] as terrorist organizations). The conflict has escalated since the Second Intifada (September 2000) broke out, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence which has been taking place until the present day. The Second Intifada has caused thousands of victims on both sides, both among combatants and among civilians.

Civil wars, guerrilla wars and political revolutions[link]

Since December 18, 2010 and until the present a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests, dubbed Arab Spring, have been taking place throughout the Arab world

Arab Spring a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Friday, 18 December 2010]]

• Libyan civil war (15 February – 23 October 2011) – a series of demonstrations and riots held against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule. The widespread demonstrations, which erupted in response to the high unemployment rate in Libya and the lack of development in the country, rapidly escalated into a civil war as Gaddafi used his military force against the Libyan rebels. As a result, fifty thousand Libyans have died.^[16] The civil war came to an end when Gaddafi was killed during the liberation of Sirte on 20 October 2011.

• Mexican Drug War (2006–present) – an armed conflict fought between rival drug cartels and government forces in Mexico. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for quite some time, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.^[17] Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.^[18][19][20] Roughly more than 28,299 people in total were killed between December 2006 until November 2010.^[21]

• War in North-West Pakistan (2004–present) – an armed conflict between the Pakistani Armed Forces and Islamic militants made up of local tribesmen, the Taliban, and foreign Mujahideen (Holy Warriors). It began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistani Army's search for al-Qaeda members in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) escalated into armed resistance by local tribesmen. The violence has displaced 3.44 million civilians^[22] and to more than 7,000 civilians being killed.^[23]

• Sa'dah insurgency (2004–2010) – a civil war in the Sa'dah Governorate of Yemen. It began after the Shī‘a Zaidiyyah sect launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government has accused Iran of directing and financing the insurgency.^[24] Thousands of rebels and civilians have been killed during the conflict.^[25][26]

• War in Somalia (2009–present) – involved largely the forces of the Somali Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops, whom fought against various militant Islamist factions for control of the country. The violence has displaced thousands of people residing in Mogadishu, the nation's capital. 1,739 people in total were killed between 1 January 2009 until 1 January 2010.^[27]

• Conflict in the Niger Delta (2004–present) – an ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The conflict was caused due to the tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. The competition for oil wealth has led to an endless violence cycle between innumerable ethnic groups, causing the militarization of nearly the entire region which was occupied by militia groups as well as Nigerian military and the forces of the Nigerian Police.

• Civil war in Chad (2005–present) involved Chadian government forces and several Chadian rebel groups. The government of Chad estimated in January 2006 that 614 Chadian citizens had been killed in cross-border raids.^[28] The fighting still continues despite several attempts to reach agreements.

• Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) – Algeria has been the subject of an Islamic insurgency since 2002 waged by the Sunni Islamic Jihadist militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). GSPC allied itself with the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb against the Algerian government. The conflict has since spread to other neighbouring countries.

• Colombian Armed Conflict (1964–present) has changed substantially after the government of Alvaro Uribe. President Juan Manuel Santos took office in 2010 and seeks to continue Uribe's policy about terrorism. The FARC and ELN guerrillas are weaker than ever and divided, with the latter calling for peace talks with the government. Meanwhile, paramilitary forces have demobilized, but irregular drug-trafficking forces called "Bacrim" have gained control over much of the areas that the AUC paramilitaries previously held. The "Bacrim" gangs have allied with guerrillas in some regions of the country like Chocó and Antioquia.

Coups[link]

Terrorist attacks[link]

The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian population during the decade include:

• 2010 Moscow Metro bombings (40 killed)
• 10 May 2010 Iraq attacks (100+ killed)
• May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore (86 killed)
• Mohmand Agency attack (105 killed)
• September 2010 Quetta bombing (73+ killed)
• 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing (at least 35 people killed and 180 injured)
• 2011 Norway attacks (two separate attacks; 77 deaths)
• 2011 Monterrey casino attack (52 killed)
• 2012 Midi-Pyrénées shootings (8 killed)

Nuclear weapons controversies[link]

• Since 2005, Iran's nuclear program has become the subject of contention with the Western world due to suspicions that Iran could divert the civilian nuclear technology to a weapons program. This has led the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran on select companies linked to this program, thus furthering its economic isolation on the international scene. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one.^[29]

• The United States and Russia sign a treaty to cut nuclear weapons in either nation in Prague in April 2010, a week later U.S. President Barack Obama hosts a Nuclear Security Summit where the attending nations decides to lock onto their nuclear arms, to make sure no terrorists get hands on these weapons of mass destruction, also South Korea was selected to hold the second Nuclear Security Summit in 2012.

Political events[link]

The prominent political events of the decade so far include:

WikiLeaks

• The international new-media non-profit organization WikiLeaks published three massive sets of documents pertaining to the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, and US diplomacy, which, respectively, were released in April, July, and November 2010. Each of these releases was accompanied by heavy and extensive weeks-long coverage in news media all over the world, and had a strong impact on the global political landscape, with strong reactions from leaders within many major countries.

Americas

Obama signing the New START treaty in Prague.

• January 2010 – A trial determining the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in the United States is held in California.^[30]
• The Obama administration's efforts to implement health care reform in the United States lead eventually to the House of Representatives voting in favour of enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010. Republicans are currently making efforts to repeal the bill, debating its constitutionality.
• On September, 17 2011 hundred protesters flood in the financial district of Wall Street in New York City this started a series of demonstration and encampment called Occupy Wall Street.^[31]
• The New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation entered into force.

Asia

• President Kim Jong-il of North Korea dies at 69 after governing the country for 17 years. His death diffuses insecurity and fear for stability of the Asian region, although initially the son of the deceased leader, Kim Jong-un, succeeded to his father.

Europe

• The 2010 United Kingdom election resulted in the first "hung parliament" since 1974. Labour, under Prime Minister Gordon Brown lost its overall majority in the House of Commons. The Conservatives led by David Cameron became the largest party. For five days, both major parties held negotiations with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats, resulting in the first peace-time coalition government since the 1930s. leading to talks for over a week between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Cameron became Prime Minister upon Brown's resignation on 11 May. Clegg also became Deputy Prime Minister.
• The Scottish National Party win an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election under Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond. The SNP's transition from a minority government to a majority government has allowed them to pledge to have a referendum on Scottish Independence from the United Kingdom.
• Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is indicted for allegedly paying for sex with an underage nightclub dancer, and ordered to stand trial.^[32]

Africa

2011 Egyptian revolution: Demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 8 February 2011

• Between 9–15 January 2011 a referendum was held in Southern Sudan on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. In the referendum a majority of 98.83% voted in favour of separation from Sudan and the creation of an independent state.
• 14 January 2011 – Amidst anti-government demonstrations, Tunisia's President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali dissolves the government, declares a state of emergency, and resigns from office.
• January–February 2011 – Inspired by the Tunisian demonstrators, thousands of protesters in Egypt call for a resignation or ousting of Hosni Mubarak, longtime president of the nation, who many feel has been in power far too long and has no interests of the public. Mubarak resigns on 11 February.
• February–October: a popular revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule over Libya leads to thousands of deaths and UN sanctions against the nation's government following a brutal crackdown against protestors.^[33]

Oceania

• June 2010 – Julia Gillard succeeds Kevin Rudd as the Prime Minister of Australia, thus becoming Australia's 27th and first female Prime Minister.

Assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts[link]

Osama bin Laden

Muammar Gaddafi

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts of the decade so far include:

• 8 January 2011 – Gabrielle Giffords, U.S. Representative from Arizona, was a victim of a shooting near Tucson which was reported to be an assassination attempt on her, at a supermarket where she was meeting publicly with constituents. Giffords was critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head; 13 people were injured and 6 others were killed in the shooting, among them conservative federal judge John Roll.
• 2 May 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an operation conducted by a team of United States Navy SEAL commandos from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command, in conjunction with U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives.
• 30 September 2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior talent recruiter, planner, and spiritual leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in a targeted killing in the northern al-Jawf province of Yemen, in an operation carried out by the US military in which two Predator drones fired Hellfire missiles at a vehicle in which he and other suspected al-Qaeda members were driving, killing them.^[34] The strike was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA.^[34]
• 21 October 2011 – Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's ousted leader, was shot to death in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city.^[35]

Disasters[link]

The most prominent disasters of the decade so far include:

Non-natural disasters[link]

Aviation & Naval disasters[link]

The wreckage site of the Polish Air Force Tu-154 near Smolensk

• On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board.
• On 10 April 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and 94 other people, including dozens of government officials, are killed in a plane crash.
• On 12 May 2010 Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes on a runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing 103 of 104 on board.^[36]
• On 22 May 2010 Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors.^[37]
• On 28 July 2010 a Pakistan Airblue Flight 202 en route from Karachi to Islamabad crashes in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad, killing all 152 aboard.
• On 26 July 2011 a Royal Moroccan Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashed into Sayyert Mountain while en route to Kenitra Air Base from Dakhla Airport with a scheduled stop-over in Guelmim, killing all 80 on board.
• On 14 January 2012 the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially capsized off the cost of Isola del Giglio in Italy, about 100 miles north of Rome. At least seventeen people died, 15 are missing, and 64 people were injured out of the 4232 people aboard.

Pollution disasters[link]

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010

• On 20 April 2010, an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive-scale oil spill^[38] that became the worst environmental disaster in United States history.^[39] On 18 June 2010, oceanographer John Kessler said that the crude gushing from the well contains 40 percent methane, compared to about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits. Methane is a natural gas that could potentially suffocate marine life and create "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives. "This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.^[40] On 20 June an internal BP document was released by Congress revealing that BP estimated the flow could be as much as 100,000 barrels (4,200,000 US gallons; 16,000 cubic metres) per day under the circumstances that existed since the 20 April blowout.^[41][42] On 15 July 2010, The BP Oil Spill was stopped for the first time, 86 days after oil started leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

• On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0^[43] earthquake off the coast of Sendai caused a tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants. The damage resulted in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster, contaminating water, soil and crops in the area with Iodine-131 and Caesium-137.

Natural disasters[link]

Damage in downtown Port-au-Prince, 13 January 2010

Chileans look at tsunami-provoked damage in the city of Pichilemu, following the 2010 Chile earthquake.

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami: An aerial view of tsunami damage in Tōhoku

The eye of Irene as viewed from the International Space Station

• On 12 January 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti, causing widespread destruction in Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities currently believe that the disaster killed between 200,000 and 250,000 people.^[44] Over 2 million people were affected and over 3 million in need of emergency aid.
• On 27 February 2010 an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing 497.^[45] One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, this rare megathrust earthquake probably shifts Earth's axis and slightly shortens its days.^[46][47] Another earthquake, of magnitude 6.9, occurred on 11 March of the same year, minutes before President Sebastián Piñera was sworn in; it was centred in Pichilemu, Cardenal Caro Province.^[48]
• In early 2010, eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano of Iceland caused unprecedented disruption to international air travel, rendering transatlantic flight impossible and closing the airways over much of Europe.
• On 4 April 2010 (Easter Sunday) a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico killing four and injuring a hundred. The neighbouring United States border towns in Imperial Valley, California were also affected.
• On 14 April 2010 a 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurs in western China, killing at least 2,200 and injuring more than 12,000.^[49][50]
• Early November 2010 – Mount Merapi erupts in Indonesia, killing hundreds and grounding flights to Singapore, Jakarta and other Southeast Asian cities.
• 2010 Pakistan floods – Began in July 2010 after record heavy monsoon rains. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan was worst affected. At least 1,600 people were killed, thousands were rendered homeless, and more than thirteen million people were affected.^{[51][52][53][54][55]} Estimates from rescue service officials suggest the death toll may reach 3,000 victims.^[56]
• On 11 and 12 January 2011, occurred Brazil's worst natural disaster ever. The January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides killed more than 900 people in 7 cities os the state of Rio de Janeiro and left demages that costed more than billion dollars.
• On 22 February 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 and leaving 200 more missing.
• On 11 March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Sendai, Japan, creating a 10 meter (33 foot) tsunami, leaving over 15,000 now confirmed dead, possibly over 10,000 missing and over 150,000 people displaced into emergency shelters.^[57] The earthquake and tsunami also damaged several nuclear reactors in the region, leaving at least one in danger of melting down. This was recorded as the worst earthquake in Japan. Damages could exceed over billion, making it the costliest natural disaster.
• The 2011 Super Outbreak happened from 25–28 April 2011, killing 340+ people, injuring thousands and caused billion of damage from the 332 confirmed tornadoes. 27 April was the worst tornado day since the "Tri-State" outbreak in 1925. It is now the deadliest tornado outbreak in the history of the United States of America. Before the disaster occurred, merely two weeks prior, the states affected in the outbreak had also been damaged from the April 14–16, 2011 tornado outbreak, leaving 43 people dead.
• The May 21–26, 2011 tornado outbreak was over a span of seven days in which 183 people were confirmed dead from 180 confirmed tornadoes. After a record active April, May was relatively quiet during the first three weeks until that pattern changed abruptly as a strong low pressure area and associated dry line and cold front tracked eastward towards the Midwest of the United States in late May. More than a third of the deaths is contributed from the EF5 2011 Joplin tornado on 22 May, which killed 159, injured 900+ and ranks as the seventh-deadliest single tornado in US history. Damages for the whole outbreak is between –7 billion.
• Hurricane Irene wreaks havoc across the Caribbean, then makes several landfalls as a major Category 3 in the Bahamas and threatened over 65 million people in the US East Coast during late August. Irene made three US landfalls in the states of North Carolina, New Jersey and New York over a two-day span. Overall, 55 fatalities and over billion in damages were contributed.
• The 2011 Van earthquake strikes the Turkish city of Van, leaving over 610 dead and thousands injured.
• In 2011, a rare October snow storm hits the northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic United States, leaving millions without power, killing 15.
• Tropical Storm Washi causes catastrophic damage in the Philippine island of Mindanao on the night of December 16, 2011. More than 1,000 are reported to be dead and thousands injured or missing. President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of calamity.

Economics[link]

The Great Recession, which began in the year 2007, officially ended in mid-2009, though unemployment has failed to recover. In the United States, a Gallup poll found that more than half of Americans believe the country is still in a recession.^[58] Some economists believe that the 'recession' has not only not ended, but is actually a mild economic depression much like the Great Depression of the 1930s.^[59] There is an energy crisis in the world due to the protests and riots in the Middle East and North Africa.^[60] Production of conventional crude oil peaked in 2004 at 74 million barrels per day, and greater records reached since then represent only small increases that are failing to keep pace with demand from growing countries, such as China and India.^[61] This is evident because of the relatively small output that was shut off during the Libya civil war, as well as the failure of releases from strategic reserves to stem high prices.^[62][63] The International Energy Agency has found that global crude oil production reached its apex in 2006, meaning production from currently producing oil fields is forecast to drop and future oil supply projections are uncertain.^[64][65][66] Another school of opinion attributes the high energy prices in the western world to government regulation.^[67]

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. Speculation abounded that it would be unable to make required bond payments due in 2010. causing the Euro to drop in value versus the US dollar and pushing the Greek/German yield spread to almost 4%. In May 2010, Eurozone leaders agreed to a billion euro three year rescue package.^[68] However, by the following year, the country's fiscal condition had not improved.^[69] In the summer and fall of 2011 bond yields for Italy and Spain spike above 6 percent.^[70] China becomes the second largest global economy, surpassing Japan.^[71] China currently faces out-of-control inflation, a real estate bubble, and troubling demographics that will lead to a shrinking labour force, all of which could lead to a collapse of the Chinese economy.^[72][73][74]

Debt struggles plague advanced countries. The crisis in Greece fuels growing fears of contagion.^[75] Beyond Greece, European countries such as Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia see their credit rating downgraded.^{[76][77][78][79][80]} In August 2011, the S&P downgrades the United States' credit rating from triple AAA to AA-plus.^[81] In September 2011 Italy is downgraded by S&P from A+.^[82] Japan also sees a rating downgrade due to debt burden.^[83] In October 2011 European leaders devised another Greek debt agreement in which private banks that loaned Greece money agreed to voluntarily write down or revalue Greek debt by 53.5%. Overall losses for private bondholders would be above 70 percent when accounting for the new bonds' longer repayment period and lower interest rate.^[84] The size of the EFSF was increased from €440 billion to €2 trillion.^[85]

Society and Trends[link]

The 2010s are notable for being the first decade in which the population of Earth has been more urban than rural; back in 2007, the portion of the human population living in cities and urban areas reached the 50% mark.^[86]

The world population is projected to peak at 9 billion by 2050, and many countries reported declining fertility rates in the 2010 census.^[87] Society by the 2010s is still being accustomed to the huge changes the Internet, globalization and digital technology make in everyday life, with many young people growing up spending their entire lives exposed to microchip technology.^[88] At the same time, the world is grappling with the Great Recession that began in 2007 and continues into the 2010s.

The United States is moving away from its trend of suburbanization that defined development during the first 60–65 years after World War 2 and new urbanism and urban revival is taking place as people begin to move back to the cities, which has been going on since the 1990s.^[89]

Environmentalism continues to become mainstream, and with the economic crisis of the late 2000s to present, increasingly profitable as well.^[90]

In the United States and to a lesser degree elsewhere, political polarization continues and/or increases as conservatives and progressives clash over the role of government and other social, economic, and environmental issues. Polls in the US continue to show a divided electorate regarding job creation, debt reduction, and taxation.^{[91][92][93][94][95][96]}

Acceptance of LGBT people slowly increases across the world, with significantly higher levels of support among younger generations than among older generations, though a growth in all age groups. On 20 September 2011, gay and lesbian citizens were allowed to serve in the United States military. For the first time, on 17 June 2011, the United Nations passed a motion in support of LGBT rights across the world, 21 years after the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases in 1990.

Currently the average age of a human being on Earth is about 28–29 years old (28.4 in 2011); hence the average birth date is around the year 1983.^[97] This ranges locally from as low as the teenage years in the developing world to as high as the mid-40s in several countries including Japan. In 1950 the average global age was only about 24 years.^[97] The aging of populations in the developed countries, most prominently Europe and Japan, continues as the Baby boomers generation reaches the age of retirement. This has caused a large debate over the Medicare and Social Security programs in the United States. Many popular opinions among Americans are that either the retirement age should be raised,^{[98][99][100][101]} the Social Security and Medicare programs be replaced with another type of pension,^{[102][103][104]} or that the Medicare and Social Security should be abolished in its entirety.^{[105][106][107]}

The world's major civilizations are now interacting more than ever in history, creating tensions but also bringing new ideas to cultures that previously did not have them. This occurs more often not only physically but in cyberspace. This is radically changing the economic and social fabric in virtually every part of the world. China, considered an emerging power in the 1990s and 2000s, has increasingly been called a superpower in the early 2010s, such as at the 2011 meeting between Hu Jintao and Barack Obama.^[108]

Individuality and uniqueness continues to be increasingly valued as opposed to conformism. A well noted example of this are baby names, which have become far more individualized since the 1960s, but especially since the 1990s and the introduction of the Internet.^[109]

Long distance relocation declines in the United States, reaching their lowest levels since information began being kept in 1948.^[110]

Youth culture such as skateboarding continues to spread to countries such as Afghanistan.^[111]

AIDS, a pandemic responsible for killing over 30 million people since its discovery in the early 1980s, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, becomes a treatable condition; though only one case has been cured,^[112] the disease is no longer a death sentence and with good treatment victims can generally expect to live normal lives and lifespans. However, as of 2011 only a bit more than 5 million of the 12 million people who need drugs for AIDS get them and hence many people still die from the disease.^[112]

In America, migration to the Sun Belt, large during the last decades of the 20th century and the 2000s decade, declines; migration in general around the US has been in decline since the beginning of the 1980s.^[113]

Science and technology[link]

Science[link]

NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars on 5 August 2011

The first collisions of CERN's Large Hadron Collider took place on 31 March 2010.

• The Large Hadron Collider's first high power collisions took place in March 2010.
• Scientists announced in May 2010 that they had developed a form of synthetic life.^[114]
• Solar aircraft became increasingly popular during the decade spearheaded by the Solar Impulse Project and QinetiQ Zephyr in 2010.
• NASA will launch the James Webb Space Telescope as early as 2014 and replace the Hubble Space Telescope.^[115]
• NASA's New Horizons probe will reach Pluto in 2015, completing its main mission, and continuing into the Kuiper Belt.
• Both the International Linear Collider and ITER may be completed during the latter half of the decade.
• The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report is scheduled to appear in 2014.^[116]
• On 5 August 2011 NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons.
• Scientists at CERN detected a Faster-than-light neutrino anomaly, which was announced in September 2011. In February 2012 two possible sources of error were reported and preliminary results in March 2012 reported neutrino velocities consistent with the speed of light.

Technology[link]

The iPad becomes the best selling tech gadget in history (to date)

• By February 2011, the IPv4 internet addresses officially run out. An early period of transition to IPv6 continues during 2011.^[117]
• Supercomputers are projected to reach exaflop scale in 2019.^[118]
• By March 2011, more than 2 billion people used the Internet.^[119]
• One billion mobile broadband users predicted by sometime in 2011, and 4.6 billion people worldwide were subscribed to mobile phones.^[120]
• On 27 January 2010, Apple Inc. launches its first tablet computer called the iPad which offers multi-touch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, magazines, ebooks, textbooks, photos, movies, TV shows videos, music, word processing documents, spreadsheets, video games. The iPad soon became an immediate bestseller and only months after its release became the best selling tech gadget in history.^[121] Multiple competing tablet computers are now on the market.
• Mobile phone apps, introduced in the later 2000s, explode in popularity; In June 2011, Americans spent more time using apps than using the World Wide Web.^[122]

Additional notable world-wide events[link]

• A series of major volcanic events occur at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland in April 2010. The eruptions led to widespread disruption of air travel across Europe grounding planes and affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers worldwide. This caused a knock-on effect to many events around the world. Scientists began recording volcanic activity there in 2009 which increased through March 2010 culminating in the second phase eruption in April 2010. It is considered the largest air traffic shut-down since World War II.^[123] The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the airline industry worldwide would lose €148 million or GB£130 million a day during the disruption.^[124]
• 13 October 2010 – 2010 Copiapó mining accident: Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, trapped 700 metres (2,300 feet) underground in a mining accident in San José Mine, are brought back to the surface after surviving for a record 69 days.^[125]
• 29 April 2011 – A television audience of an estimated two billion people^[126] watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.

• 

  The ash plume from the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap, over the North Atlantic as seen from space by NASA's Aqua satellite on 17 April 2010

• 

  2010 Copiapó mining accident

• 

  Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Popular culture[link]

Film and television[link]

Film and television, two industries that have dominated pop culture for a large part of the last century found itself struggling to maintain its predominant influence throughout this decade.^[127] The struggles plaguing the music industry in the previous decade had begun to catch up to other mediums, as well as the consequences of ever-increasing online usage by consumers. Internet piracy was a major concern for the industry as well and a reluctance to adapt to consumer demand through online venues even further harmed the industry's image.^[128] In 2008, the industry launched the joint venture video site Hulu to combat numerous piracy concerns from other video-sharing sites.^[129] As of 2010, Hulu was contemplating a US$2 billion IPO.^[130] As of 2012, Viacom is pursuing a US$1 billion lawsuit against Youtube for copyright infringement.^[131] Furthermore, governments began looking at ways to combat internet piracy. In early 2012, the United States Congress began debating the infamous SOPA and PIPA bills that were heavily lobbied by the entertainment industry and widely unpopular among the population.^[132] Despite government efforts to debate the issue, internet piracy is still expected to be a major concern throughout the decade.^[133][134]

Cable providers saw a decline in their membership in favor of online streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.com's Prime service due to cheaper cost to consumers.^[135][136] These non-cable, internet-based media streaming services even began producing their own programming.^[137]

TV sets, such as the SmartTV by Samsung, start to integrate the internet to traditional television, giving more choices that are more traditional and high quality than cable, along with more family friendly middle class entertainment.

3D films, although not a new technology, saw a resurgence in popularity after the long-awaited release of James Cameron's Avatar in late-2009.^{[138][139][140]} In 2010, Avatar became the first film to gross more than US$2 billion.^[141] The box office success of other 3D releases that year insured the industry that 3D movies were not a fad.^[142][143] In fact, the video game and television industries began to look into utilizing the 3D trend by releasing their own 3D products and services.

Animated films in the 2010s remain predominately computer generated. Traditional 2D animation has struggled in recent years and is seen by some industry giants like Michael Eisner to be an outdated artform or casualty to the rise of CGI-based films.^[144][145] Japanese anime and manga still remain to be fairly popular 2D mediums globally and may be the exception to this trend.^[146] In 2010, Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to gross more than US$1 billion worldwide.^[147] Established long-running 2D animated sitcoms are still widely popular as well.^[148]

The American Soap opera format slides in popularity as reality television and daytime talk shows continue to move in on their time slots.^[149][150] All My Children and One Life to Live, both globally broadcast series that have been on the air for decades are cancelled.^[151] Prime-time television serials and Spanish-language telenovelas remain popular globally.^[152]

In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Director for the 2009 movie The Hurt Locker.^[153]

The highly-controversial, globally-acclaimed 2000 Japanese film "Battle Royale" was officially released to theaters and home media in the United States after more than eleven years of quiet corporate wrangling by both American and Japanese distributors; the first planned Los Angeles public theatrical run in December 2011 was extended by six days due to popular demand.^[154][155]

Cuisine[link]

Breakfast habits change: among Americans, cereal, a profitable breakfast food throughout the 20th century, declines by the early 1990s and is not nearly as popular by the 2010s.^[156] Fast casual restaurants such as Five Guys, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Pasha's Mediterranean (in South Florida, USA) also have seen upticks in popularity.^[157][158]

Music[link]

As a decade, the 2010s continue an ongoing trend of atemporality in pop music. Whilst music in previous decades had a defined sound, the 2000s produced no epoch defining genres, and genres remain little changed from where they were in the 1990s.^[159][160]

While stylistically music is essentially stuck in the same style it has been in since about 1995, the musical paradigm shifts in the previous decade regarding how people obtain and listen to music including the rise of the MP3 format,^[161][162] televised national musical contests,^[163] and the declining influence of the recording industry have had major effects on the state of music globally in a relatively short time.^[164] According to a Nielsen and Billboard report, in 2012 digital music sales topped the physical sale of music.^[165]

In terms of popular music, the heavy use of Auto-Tune has dramatically changed the landscape of the Top-40 charts. At the same time, electronic dance music and electropop have gained significant popularity; autotune became widespread during the late 2000s and early-2010s, making a sound that differentiates 2010s music from the popular music styles of the early 2000s.^[166] Another noticeable trend that began late in the 2000s and is continuing into this decade is the prevalence of dance and pop music.^{[167][168][169]} Dubstep, originating in the United Kingdom, is rising in popularity globally,^[170] and is a style that mirrors the electronic-leaning musical trends elsewhere.

Architecture[link]

The Burj Khalifa became the world's tallest building when completed in 2010.

Postmodernism and green designs^[171][172] are common themes seen throughout the architecture of the decade. The aftermath of the energy crisis and the threat of peak oil have pushed developers to creating structures that are as sustainable as possible whether that is through the use of natural lighting, green/white roofs, better insulation, and other cost-saving means.^[173] Architect Bjarke Ingels, known for designing the Danish pavilion at Expo 2010, has proposed a type of "hedonistic sustainability" to create a balance between playful art and sustainability.^[174]

China and Dubai have been regarded as the "architect playgrounds" of this decade.^{[175][176][177][178]} Many iconic structures, including the current world's tallest building Burj Khalifa and the Shanghai Tower, are placed in these regions of the world. Dubai's development has been slowed by the global recession,^[179] but China continues to flourish in its development towards a modern nation.^[180] In fact, China is pushing Shanghai to become a global financial center by 2015.^[181][182] As China continues to develop, it will continue to struggle to provide energy for its 1 billion strong population. China's Three Gorges Dam became fully operational in 2011 and is one of the world's largest gravity dams.^[183]

A supertall skyscraper race began in the late-2000s and in 2010, Dubai's Burj Khalifa became the tallest man-made structure ever built, standing at 828 m (2,717 ft). The title is not expected to last too long as other projects proposed or approved such as the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia^[184] hopes to rise even higher. One World Trade Center (541.32 m (1,776.0 ft)), an environmentally integrated structure^[185] which is set to become the tallest building in the United States, is expected to open in April 2013.^[186] By January 2012, it had reached more than three-quarters of its designed height.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest railway tunnel, is scheduled to be completed in 2017 or 2018.

Sports[link]

Events held[link]

Planned[link]

Video gaming[link]

The Nintendo 3DS is the first gaming device released to feature 3D gaming without the need for stereoscopic glasses.

Coming into the 2010s, video games and their associated culture matures into an established element of pop culture. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a person who plays games is 37.^[187]

Some of the new and innovative trends to gaming culture in this decade include cloud gaming, the rise of 3D gaming, and the ever-increasing advancements in graphic card technologies leading to more photo-realistic graphics. Video game sales declined in the early-2010s, most likely due to the effects of the Great Recession,^[188] but the industry still continued to make millions of dollars in profits from wide-releases of popular franchises. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, released in late-2011, made over US$775 million in one-week which put that particular first-person shooter video game on par or even surpassing records of the film industry's opening numbers that week.^[189]

The first few years of the decade was dominated primarily with seventh generation consoles. This includes Microsoft's Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. The lack of many wide release titles on the PC lead some industry critics to question whether PC gaming is dead entirely.^[190] The PC, however still remains the preferred choice medium by the Sims franchise and many of Blizzard's popular titles despite they themselves expanding onto other devices.^[191][192] 2012 will introduce the first console regarded to be in the eighth generation, the Wii U. Sony and Microsoft have initially stated that their PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles were to be on a ten-year lifespan which wouldn't place a release of one of their consoles until 2014 or 2016,^{[193][194][195]} but the Wii U's announcement has prompted the other two industry giants to make swifter timetables of release. The successor to the Xbox 360 is expected to be released in 2013 and feature 3D gaming and touchscreen controllers.^[196] The eighth generation consoles are expected to face stiff competition from tablet and smartphone gaming markets, as well as an increased interest in independent games promoted by popular social networking sites.^[197][198]

Following in the 3D craze, Nintendo released the Nintendo 3DS in early-2011. It introduced a new interface that does not require special glasses to observe stereoscopic 3D visual during gameplay.^[199] Sony also releases a handheld console, the Playstation Vita in 2012, but does not feature 3D gaming. The OnLive console is released in 2010 becoming the first massively-produced cloud gaming-based gaming device.^[200] Mobility and interaction become a common trend to see in video games. The original Wii revolutionized the industry with the introduction of the sensor bar with compatible sensitive controllers, and Sony and Microsoft reacted by releasing the Playstation Move and Kinect respectively. This new and innovative direction expanded the video game market to those interested in physical therapy and to the elderly.^{[201][202][203][204]}

Fashion[link]

Fashion so far in the 2010s has seen a continuation of the casual fashion of the previous decade, though clothes have generally become tighter-fitting and more colorful.

People[link]

World leaders[link]