década de 2020

Entre las guerras más destacadas de la década se incluyen:

Entre las revoluciones exitosas y otras protestas importantes de la década se incluyen, entre otras:

• 
  Manifestantes en Minneapolis, ciudad donde George Floyd fue asesinado y donde comenzaron los disturbios el 26 de mayo de 2020.  
• 
  Protesta contra la restricción del aborto en Bielsko-Biała , Polonia
• 
  El golpe de Estado de Myanmar de 2021 culminó una serie de protestas en curso , en las que miles de manifestantes participaron en una concentración contra la junta militar en Yangon en febrero de 2021.
• 
  Manifestantes en Aktobe durante un período de disturbios en Kazajstán , 4 de enero de 2022.
• 
  Ciudadanos de Sri Lanka protestando frente a la Secretaría Presidencial en Colombo , 13 de abril de 2022.
• 
  Ciudadanos iraníes protestan en la Universidad Tecnológica Amirkabir de Teherán tras la muerte de Mahsa Amini , el 20 de septiembre de 2022.
• 
  El 8 de enero de 2023, manifestantes atacaron el Congreso brasileño para protestar e intentar anular los resultados de las elecciones brasileñas de 2022 .
• 
  Manifestantes y alborotadores prooccidentales durante las protestas antigubernamentales en Tiflis , Georgia.
• 
  " La marcha de un millón de corazones " en Varsovia , Polonia.
• 
  Tractores en Saint-Etienne-de-Fontbellon ( Francia ) durante las protestas de los agricultores de la UE .
• 
  La gente vitorea frente a la oficina de la primera ministra tras la dimisión de Sheikh Hasina , que puso fin a la Revolución de Julio en Bangladesh.
• 
  Venezolanos salen a las calles para protestar contra los resultados de las elecciones presidenciales de 2024 en Caracas, 3 de agosto de 2024.
• 
  Estudiantes manifestantes cerca del Monumento Nacional , en el centro de Yakarta , durante las protestas indonesias de febrero de 2025.
• 
  Un grupo de manifestantes que exigen "Manos fuera" se congrega en el Capitolio del Estado de Minnesota en Saint Paul, Minnesota, tras las protestas por George Floyd en 2020.
• 
  Guardia Nacional de California y manifestantes durante las protestas de junio de 2025 en Los Ángeles contra la deportación masiva .
• 
  Las protestas antigubernamentales perturbaron la Expo 2025 en Osaka desde el asesinato de Shinzo Abe tres años antes, en el marco del movimiento de los "Años de Furia".
• 
  Manifestantes y alborotadores enfurecidos en Katmandú durante las protestas de la Generación Z nepalí de 2025 .
• 
  Marcha del billón de pesos en el Santuario EDSA , Ciudad Quezón, durante las protestas anticorrupción de Filipinas de 2025 .
• 
  Las protestas de la Generación Z en América Latina se produjeron en Perú, México y Colombia, en respuesta a la guerra contra el narcotráfico en México , el conflicto colombiano y la crisis política peruana .
• 
  En octubre de 2025, las protestas de No Kings constituyeron una de las mayores manifestaciones de un solo día en Estados Unidos y en todo el mundo.
• 
  Miembros de la diáspora iraní realizan una manifestación de solidaridad en Perth , Australia, durante las violentas protestas y disturbios en Irán .

Los ataques terroristas más destacados perpetrados contra poblaciones civiles durante la década incluyen, entre otros:

Los índices de democracia V-Dem 2026 , el índice de democracia de The Economist 2025 y el índice mundial de libertad de prensa 2025 de Reporteros Sin Fronteras (RSF) ^{[ 221 ] [ 222 ] [ 223 ]}

La década de 2020 marcó el fin de la era posterior a la Guerra Fría , particularmente en la Europa del Este poscomunista , al este de la antigua Cortina de Hierro . ^{[ 224 ]} La pasokificación marcó el declive de la política de centroizquierda y centroderecha en todo el mundo occidental durante la década, liderada por cambios demográficos como el aumento de la educación superior y la diversidad étnica, así como la menguante influencia de la religión y el auge de la política de identidad . En este momento, los partidos de centroderecha se desplazaron hacia la derecha hacia el libertarismo , el populismo de derecha , el conservadurismo nacional , o fueron suplantados por nuevos partidos de extrema derecha. ^{[ 225 ]} La política de centroizquierda no ha decaído en la misma medida, aunque algunos sí lo han hecho, sobre todo Joe Biden (particularmente por preocupaciones sobre la edad y la salud ). ^{[ 226 ]} Volodymyr Zelenskyy en Ucrania también está luchando, con las próximas elecciones presidenciales ucranianas pospuestas indefinidamente debido a la guerra ruso-ucraniana . ^{[ 227 ] [ 228 ]}

En Estados Unidos ha surgido una profunda división política , ^{[ 229 ]} que ha experimentado una aguda polarización política , con marcadas divisiones en función de la raza y la etnia , el nivel educativo , ^{[ 230 ]} y la polarización política entre los estados . ^{[ 231 ]} Las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2024 se decidieron por un margen estrecho del 1,5% (49,8-48,3%), en una contienda muy ajustada por el margen del voto popular. En 2024, Donald Trump derrotó a Kamala Harris después de que Harris lo hubiera derrotado previamente en 2020 como candidata a la vicepresidencia , en una especie de revancha. ^{[ 232 ]}

Europa Occidental , ^{[ 233 ]} Canadá , ^{[ 234 ]} y Oceanía ( Australia y Nueva Zelanda ) han evitado en gran medida el retroceso democrático y el auge de la política de extrema derecha, ^{[ 235 ]} pero incluso allí la inestabilidad política y la polarización han aumentado. ^{[ 236 ]} Keir Starmer del Reino Unido ha visto caer sus índices de aprobación precipitadamente, lo que provocó su dimisión en junio de 2026, ^{[ 237 ]} y Emmanuel Macron de Francia se ha enfrentado a una crisis política francesa debido a un parlamento sin mayoría absoluta. ^{[ 238 ] [ 239 ]} Sin embargo, en las elecciones generales neerlandesas de 2025, el partido liberal Demócratas 66 obtuvo la mayor cantidad de escaños. ^{[ 240 ]}

Las protestas de la Generación Z en Asia comenzaron en 2024, y la Revolución de Julio en Bangladesh fue descrita como la primera revolución de la Generación Z del mundo. ^{[ 241 ]} Las elecciones generales de Bangladesh y Nepal de 2026 resultaron en victorias aplastantes de los partidos de oposición liberales y reformistas, el Partido Nacionalista de Bangladesh y el Partido Rastriya Swatantra , ambas elecciones celebradas desde las caóticas protestas de la Generación Z. ^{[ 242 ] [ 243 ]}

En el sudeste asiático ( ASEAN ) y los países de Asia oriental , la inestabilidad política también ha aumentado, particularmente en Tailandia , Filipinas , Japón y Corea del Sur . Tailandia y Filipinas tuvieron importantes crisis políticas como los juicios políticos y las destituciones de los primeros ministros Srettha Thavisin y Paetongtarn Shinawatra , ^{[ 244 ] [ 245 ] [ 246 ]} así como el juicio político de Sara Duterte y el arresto de Rodrigo Duterte . ^{[ 247 ] [ 248 ]} Corea del Sur tuvo una crisis de ley marcial en 2024 que resultó en el juicio político de Yoon Suk Yeol por ocho años desde Park Geun-hye en 2017, ^{[ 249 ] [ 250 ] [ 251 ]} mientras que en Japón se vio empañado por protestas y disturbios antigubernamentales, el PLD perdió su mayoría en ambas cámaras de la Dieta Nacional y la recuperó en 2026 para un regreso electoral de cuatro años desde 2021. ^{[ 252 ] [ 253 ]} El Frente Bangkok-Manila-Seúl-Tokio lideró como la iniciativa de defensa de la OTAN -EE. UU . centrada en prevenir amenazas de Irán , venganza con la guerra ruso-ucraniana , invasión china de Taiwán y disputa del Mar de China Meridional , liderada por Anutin Charnvirakul , Bongbong Marcos , Lee Jae Myung y Sanae Takaichi . ^{[ 254 ] [ 255 ]} La iniciativa se implementó después de una turbulenta crisis política. El secretario de Defensa de EE. UU. , Pete Hegseth, expresó opiniones positivas sobre un frente junto con los miembros del Escuadrón del Pacífico de Australia, India y Canadá. ^{[ 256 ]}

Zohran Mamdani fue elegido alcalde de la ciudad de Nueva York en 2025 a la edad de 34 años, derrotando al exgobernador de Nueva York, Andrew Cuomo . Mamdani se convirtió en el primer alcalde musulmán, indio-ugandés y millennial de la ciudad de Nueva York. ^{[ 257 ] [ 258 ]}

Tendencias electorales

Candidatos presidenciales estadounidenses en la década de 2020

De izquierda a derecha:

Donald Trump, presidente número 45 y 47 de los Estados Unidos (2017-2021, 2025-presente), es un político conservador nacional; Kamala Harris, vicepresidenta número 49 de los Estados Unidos (2021-2025), es una política liberal. Se enfrentaron en las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2020 y 2024 .

Tras haber sufrido un declive en los años posteriores a la Gran Recesión , la política de centroizquierda y el modelo político de la década de 1990 (como el progresismo , el liberalismo y las políticas de socialdemocracia ) experimentaron un resurgimiento en toda Europa y la anglosfera a principios de la década de 2020, y New Statesman sugirió varias causas, incluidos los cambios naturales en el ciclo electoral y la impopularidad de los conservadores entre los graduados universitarios y los votantes menores de 40 años. ^{[ 276 ]}

La elección de Kamala Harris como vicepresidenta en las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2020 fue considerada un hito histórico, al ser la primera mujer y persona de ascendencia multicultural (afroamericana y asiático-americana) en ocupar el cargo, lo que reflejaba tendencias más amplias hacia una mayor diversidad y representación en la política, la cultura y la sociedad estadounidenses. [ 277 ^{] Se reconoció} su derrota como candidata presidencial en las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2024 frente a Donald Trump. ^{[ 278 ]}

Tras la elección de Donald Trump en las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2024 , a mediados de la década de 2020 se observó el resurgimiento del populismo de derecha y del modelo político de la década de 1980 (como las ideologías trumpistas de conservadurismo , conservadurismo social y políticas anticomunistas ). ^{[ 279 ] [ 280 ]}

La polarización política ha aumentado en otros países occidentales, no solo en Estados Unidos. ^{[ 281 ]} mientras que aquellos que tienen opiniones muy desfavorables del partido opositor están en máximos históricos a partir de 2022. ^{[ 282 ]} El New York Times caracterizó esto como parte de una "nueva división global", entre el conservadurismo nacional , el conservadurismo social y el populismo de derecha contra la socialdemocracia , el liberalismo y el proeuropeísmo (en Europa) o las minorías étnicas como los afroamericanos (en Estados Unidos). ^{[ 274 ]} La década de 2020 vio el auge de partidos políticos de extrema derecha , ultranacionalistas , libertarios o populistas de derecha en el Bloque Occidental y los estados miembros del C12, como el Partido Popular de Canadá , el Partido Liberal de Brasil , la Agrupación Nacional (Francia), Alternativa para Alemania , Reform UK , el Partido Reformista (Corea del Sur), Sanseitō (Japón) y, en algunos casos, la facción de Trump del Partido Republicano . ^{[ 283 ]} Los partidos en el poder en los 10 condados principales que celebraron elecciones en 2024 perdieron, la primera vez que esto sucede desde 1905. Los 50 estados y el Distrito de Columbia se inclinaron hacia el Partido Republicano en las elecciones presidenciales de EE. UU. de 2024. ^{[ 284 ]}

The World Trade Organization reported that trade growth had stagnated and that trade restrictions were increasing as the decade began. The sectors most affected by import restrictions were mineral and fuel oils (17.7%), machinery and mechanical appliances (13%), electrical machinery and parts (11.7%), and precious metals (6%).^[827]Regional trade agreements were also found to be increasing.^[828]

United States President Donald Trump announced 2 April 2025 to be "liberation day", beginning to enforce tariffs on numerous nations in the following week. This triggered an ongoing economic trade war as well as the 2025 stock market crash. It is currently the largest decline in the global stock market since the 2020 stock market crash, which was part of a recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[829][830][831]} From January to April 2025, the average applied US tariff rate rose from 2.5% to an estimated 27%—the highest level in over a century.^[832] The Supreme Court of the United States heard the case Learning Resources v. Trump on 5 November 2025 to determine the legality of some of Trump's tariffs. On 20 February 2026, the Supreme Court struck down many of Trump's tariffs.^[833][834]

Trump's tariffs represented a repudiation of neoliberalism and free trade, instead returning to mercantilism and protectionism.^[835] Tariffs have a long history in the United States, dating back to the Import-Export Clause of the U.S. Constitution and even the Navigation Acts when the United States was a British colony.^[836]

The Israeli–United States war against Iran in 2026 caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime shipping, impacting about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas production.^[837] It became the largest energy market disruption since the 1970s energy crisis,^[838] and the largest disruption of the global oil market in history, surpassing the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.^[839]

The AI boom^[850][851] is an ongoing period of rapid progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that started in the late 2010s before gaining international prominence throughout the 2020s with the public release of consumer-facing chatbots such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.^[852] Examples include large language models and generative AI applications developed by OpenAI as well as protein folding prediction led by Google DeepMind. This period is sometimes referred to as an AI spring, to contrast it with previous AI winters.^[853][854]

• DeepMind solves the protein folding problem to 90 percent accuracy, a 50-year-old grand challenge, at CASP14 in 2020.^[855][856]
• Text-to-image AI art systems such as DALL-E (1, 2, and 3) and Stable Diffusion are capable of generating highly detailed and realistic images from text prompts.
• Chatbots using fine-tunedlarge language models, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Meta'sLlama, became widely adopted in 2023 and 2024.^[857]
• In early 2024, OpenAI released a new technology called Sora, a video model that generates short video clips based on user prompts, and can also extend existing short videos. Sora was released publicly for ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro users in December 2024. This has revolutionized the video industry, since this machine generates videos in shorter time, leading to more companies adopting AI videos, with Coca-Cola being the first one to do so.^[858][859]

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

The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. Vulcan is replacing its more expensive predecessors.^[860] Since 2023, SpaceX is testing its fully reusable Starship with orbital missions.^[861] In 2025, Blue Origin conducted the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage and Ariane 6 replaced the, retired more expensive, Ariane 5.^[862]

Mars stays a focus for missions to other planets, with three missions launched in 2020 (by China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and at least one mission planned for 2024, 2026 and 2028.^[863]

In 2028, as part of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission, NASA plans to launch a Sample Retrieval Lander. In 2027, ESA plans to launch the Earth Return Orbiter, which will transport the retrieved samples from Mars to Earth by 2033. China is also planning to retrieve samples from Mars by 2031.^[864]

NASA plans a return of humans to the Moon by 2028. The first uncrewed launch of the Space Launch System happened in 2022.^[865]The first crewed launch, a lunar flyby, occurred in April 2026.^[866] NASA is aiming toward a 2028 lunar landing.

India plans to launch its first crewed flight with a spacecraft called Gaganyaan on a home-grown GSLV Mark III rocket in 2025. The mission would make India the fourth nation to launch a crewed spaceflight after Russia, the US and China. India also plans to launch its second Mars probe, Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2).^[867]

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021. NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will have a field of view 100 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, no earlier than September 2026.^{[868][869][870][871]}

NASA's NEO Surveyor, scheduled to launch no later than June 2028,^[872] is expected to be capable of detecting at least 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (460 ft), a goal mandated by the US Congress in 2005.^[873]

The number of small satellites launched annually was expected to grow to around one thousand (2018 estimate), mainly communication satellites in large constellations^[874] but launches quickly exceeded this estimate, mainly due to the rapid deployment of the Starlink and OneWeb constellations. From 2020 to 2022, around 3500 Starlink satellites^[875] and 500 satellites by OneWeb^[876] were launched.

The number of total satellites reached 10,000 for the first time in 2024.^[877]

• Support for Adobe Flash Player ended on 31 December 2020.
• Windows 11 is released on 5 October 2021, succeeding Windows 10.
• Support for Internet Explorer on Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) ended on 15 June 2022.
• ESU support for Windows 7 and extended support for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT ended on 10 January 2023. Some versions of Windows 10, such as Windows 10 2106 LTSB are already out of mainstream support, some versions are out of all support, and others soon on, i.e. 14 October 2025, while some Enterprise versions will be supported longer.

• The BBC reports that for the "first time someone who has had a complete cut to their spinal cord has been able to walk freely... because of an electrical implant that has been surgically attached to his spine".^[878]
• Sales of electric vehicles have grown significantly and this is expected to continue through the decade.^[879]
• NFTs as a form of digital art emerged in the 2020s, with NFTs such as Everydays: the First 5000 Days. The NFT market experienced rapid growth during 2020, with its value tripling to US$250 million.^[880] In the first three months of 2021, more than US$200 million were spent on NFTs,^[881] and in the early months of 2021, interest in NFTs increased after a number of high-profile sales and art auctions.^[882] However, by 2022 this market was in the process of rapid collapse.^[883] A report in September 2023 concluded that 95% of collected NFTs now possess zero market value, and that "79% of all NFT collections remain unsold".^[884]

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

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

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

• The population of Egypt reached 100 million in February 2020.^[885]
• The world population reached 8 billion in November 2022.^[886]
• Population growth, life expectancy and birth rates declined globally in the early 2020s, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[887]
• India surpassed China and became the most-populous country in April 2023.^[888]

Swedish Prime MinisterMagdalena Andersson and Finnish Prime MinisterSanna Marin were two female prime ministers in Scandinavia who guided their countries' ascensions into NATO.

Italian Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni and Japanese Prime MinisterSanae Takaichi and were two incumbent female prime ministers in Europe and Asia, both became the Forbes' World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

24.3% of all national parliamentarians were women as of February 2019. 11 women were serving as head of state and 12 as head of government in June 2019. 20.7% of government ministers were women as of January 2019. There are wide regional variations in the average percentages of women parliamentarians. As of February 2019, these were: Nordic countries, 42.5%; Americas, 30.6%; Europe excluding Nordic countries, 27.2%; sub-Saharan Africa, 23.9%; Asia, 19.8%; Arab States, 19%; and the Pacific, 16.3%. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide, 61.3% of seats in the lower house. About 26% of elected local parliamentarians are women.^[889]

Many states swore in their first female leaders during the 2020s, including Presidents Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Greece), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Sandra Mason (Barbados), Xiomara Castro (Honduras), Katalin Novák (Hungary), Dina Boluarte (Peru), Nataša Pirc Musar (Slovenia), Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (North Macedonia) and Prime Ministers Rose Christiane Raponda (Gabon), Victoire Tomegah Dogbé (Togo), Kaja Kallas (Estonia), Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (Samoa), Robinah Nabbanja (Uganda), Najla Bouden (Tunisia), Magdalena Andersson (Sweden), Giorgia Meloni (Italy), Judith Suminwa (DRC), Chairwoman Borjana Krišto (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Sanae Takaichi (Japan).^[890]

Despite this, nearly all of the world's wealthiest individuals (mostly American technology billionaires) are male, as are the heads of state of most countries.^[825]

Renewable energy capacity additions in 2020 expanded by more than 45% from 2019, including a 90% rise in global wind capacity and a 23% expansion of new solar photovoltaic installations.^[891]

In 2024, Earth saw the highest average annual surface air temperature ever recorded, outpacing 2023 on an average basis.^[892]

The effects of climate change manifested in 2020 with a record 30 named Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes; the highest heat in 80-years recorded at 54.4 Celsius; massive wildfires in Australia, the Western United States, and the Arctic; and the second-lowest annual Arctic sea ice coverage.^[893] The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative—involving 30 fund management companies managing $9 trillion—pledged investment portfolios to be carbon-neutral by 2050.^[894]

In July 2024, in each month in a 12-month period (through June 2024), Earth's average temperature exceeded 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial baseline,^[895] and the highest daily global average temperature is recorded at 17.09 °C (62.76 °F), surpassing the previous record of 17.08 °C (62.74 °F) on 6 July 2023.^[896]

• Team Seas is an international collaborative fundraiser founded by YouTubers Mark Rober and MrBeast on 29 October 2021, as a follow-up to Team Trees. The fundraiser's aim was to raise US$30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash from the ocean by the end of the year. They also partnered with the Ocean Cleanup and the Ocean Conservancy.
• Members of the United Nations agree on a legal framework for the High Seas Treaty on 4 March 2023, which aims to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.

• A law allowing third gender option on driver licenses took effect in New Hampshire.^[897]
• Switzerland banned discrimination based on sexuality due to a referendum, putting into effect a law previously introduced in 2018, that was subsequently blocked by the government that requested a referendum to be held on the matter first.^[898]
• In Northern Ireland, the first same-sex marriage took place after legalizing legislation took effect in January 2020.^[899][900]
• In Costa Rica, same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples became legal on 26 May 2020.
• The Supreme Court of the United Statesruled that job discrimination against workers for their sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal.^[901]
• In Argentina, nonbinary ID cards with an "X" gender marker started to be issued by the Ministry of the Interior.
• The U.S State Department issued its first ever passport with an "X" gender marker in October 2021, intended to support nonbinary people.^[902]
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Switzerland after a 2021 referendum, enforced beginning in July 2022.
• In Chile, same-sex marriage and joint adoption by same-sex couples became legal on 10 March 2022.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Slovenia on 8 July 2022 after the Constitutional Court of Slovenia ruled that the ban on same-sex marriages violated the national constitution.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Cuba on 27 September 2022 after the Cuban Family Code referendum passed.
• By October 2022, Mexico City and all Mexican states had legalized same-sex marriage, either by legislation, executive action, or Supreme Court order.^[903]
• On 1 January 2024, same-sex marriage became legal in Estonia.

The fashion of the early 2020s was characterized by a variety of styles and influences from different eras. During this period, the trend towards individuality and self-expression in clothing continued. Young millennials and Generation Z has witnessed and enjoyed a notable resurgence of fashion styles from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s in the fashion industry. A prominent example of this is the revival of trends such as crop tops, baggy jeans, and elements from the Y2K aesthetic.^[947][948]

In the 2020s, many companies, including current fast fashion giants such as Shein and Temu, began using social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram as a marketing tool.^[949] Marketing strategies involving third parties, particularly influencers and celebrities, have become prominent tactics. E-commerce platforms that promote small businesses, such as Depop and Etsy, grew by offering vintage, homemade, or resold clothing from individual sellers.^[950]Thrifting also exploded in popularity because of the potential to find valuable pieces of clothing at cheaper prices.^[951]

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted film releases especially early in the decade, resulting in a drastic drop in box office revenue as well as many films postponing their release or shifting it to a streaming services. Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing film of the decade so far, and currently the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Other financially successful films at the box office include Top Gun: Maverick, Dune and its sequel Dune: Part Two, and Wicked. Superhero films mostly continued to do well financially, such as most successes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, continuing with its "Multiverse Saga" (accompanied with a series of shows and specials created exclusively on Disney+ which interconnect with the films). Several successful horror films included M3GAN, the X trilogy, Barbarian, and Sinners.^[953]

In 2023, the films Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released on the same day, which led to the creation of the double feature phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer". Both films became critically and commercially successful with both receiving a nomination for Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards, and the latter winning both the award and nabbing Christopher Nolan's first Best Director award.

2025 became the year of highest-grossing animated films in Asia, such as Ne Zha 2 and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, to gross $3 billion in a successful box office of the year, Japanese anime films became dominant for 15 years since Arrietty (2010).^[954][955]

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

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

Billions of people watched the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II in 2022 and the 2024 Summer Olympics coverage in Paris speculated to be the most watched special television events in history.^[956][957]

Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift are the most famous successful female artists of the decade.

By 2020, TikTok, an online video service, had become extremely popular as a music platform on social media.^[964] Users on streaming platforms such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, and Apple Music have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Festivals such as Coachella were cancelled because of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the touring business.^[965][966]

The 2020s saw the continued impact of streaming on the record industry, a trend that began in the 2010s. Platforms like Spotify played a central role in shaping music trends, driving the success of both mainstream and emerging genres. Social media, particularly TikTok, further amplified music with viral trends, while popular genres like pop, hip-hop, R&B, rock music including pop punk and shoegaze, country, K-pop and indie music dominated the Billboard Hot 100 charts. At the same time, underground genres like hyperpop, plugg, jersey club, phonk and rage thrived in niche communities.^{[967][968][969][970][971]}

Pop, hip-hop, rock music including pop punk and shoegaze, Eurodance, indies, K-pop, R&B,^[972]trance, and synth-pop^[973] all dominated the early part of the decade, with the most popular artists being Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Charli XCX, the Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Playboi Carti, Morgan Wallen, Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, Jelly Roll, and more.^[974] The early 20s also saw the one-off return of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones with a new song and album, respectively, which topped out the charts immediately upon release.^[975] 2022 saw a revival in Kate Bush's song "Running Up That Hill", due to its appearance in the Netflix series Stranger Things.^[976] Starting around 2023, country music has seen a rise in popularity with artists such as Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen topping the charts along with artists such as Beyoncé and Post Malone releasing country albums.

The ninth generation of consoles began in 2020. The industry remains dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft with the release of the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5, while the Nintendo Switch continues to be popular from the previous decade. Technological advancements in consoles included support for real-time ray tracing graphics and output for 4K or even 8K resolution. Physical media continued to be replaced by online distribution of games, with the Xbox Series S and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition lacking an optical drive.^[13] The Steam Deck was released in 2022 as Valve's attempt to bring PC-level gaming to a Nintendo Switch-style handheld format.^[977][978]

During the decade PC gaming would continue growing rapidly with the console gaming market remaining more stagnant.^[979] The growing majority of video game developers would also primarily focus on developing their projects for PC.^[980]Mobile gaming remained the largest sector of the video game industry during the decade, accounting for roughly half of the industry's revenue.^[981]

Critically successful games such as Elden Ring, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarök, Baldur's Gate 3, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us Part II were released and won multiple best game of the year awards, signaling a shift towards narrative-driven and single-played focused gaming compared with the end of the 2010s where popularity of multiplayer gaming dominated.^[982] Nonetheless, widely successful multiplayer games includes Among Us, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty: Warzone, Fall Guys, Fate/Grand Order, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, It Takes Two, Counter-Strike 2, Umamusume: Pretty Derby, Minecraft, Terraria, Roblox, Tetris Effect, Dead by Daylight, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, and Valorant surged in popularity in the decade and became a global sensation since the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14]

There is a revival in expressionist architecture. The SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome were completed in September 2020 and August 2024, there are a component of Hollywood Park, a master-planned neighborhood in development in Inglewood, California. The venue serves as a home to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Rams, and the Chargers. Both they hosted the Super Bowl LVI in February 2022, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in February 2026, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June 2026.^[983][984] The stadium and arena is also set to host the opening and closing ceremonies, aquatic events (swimming and diving), and basketball events for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States.^[985]

The developments in Port Melbourne, Victoria of the West Gate Tunnel continued from 2020, which is designed to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, it is expected to be completed in 2025.^[986][987]

The Unity Tower in Kraków was finally completed on 30 September 2020. The construction of the building originally started in 1975 but stopped permanently in 1981 because of economic constraints and political unrest at the time. Due to the unfinished building's resemblance to a skeleton, it was nicknamed after Skeletor, the arch-villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which was popular in Poland at the time construction began.^[988]

Several developments in Saudi Arabia to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030, such as the 2034 FIFA World Cup stadiums, Qiddiya City, Neom's The Line, Jeddah Tower, Roshn, and Riyadh's Expo 2030 site.^{[989][990][991]} The Jeddah Tower would become the world's tallest building or structure, after a long-delayed construction progress and resumed in 2025, standing at least 180 metres (590 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa.^[992][993]

The Grand Ring was built and designed by the Japanese firms Tohata Architects and Azusa Sekkei, the building became the symbol of the famous Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.^[994][995] It was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest architectural structure (certified area: 61,035.55 m²).^{[996][997][994][998][999]}

Between October 2025 and February 2026, the Sagrada Família became the world's tallest church when a part of its central tower was lifted into place and reached 162.91 m, surpassing Ulm Minster (161.53 m),^[1000][1001] and the cathedral reached its final height of 172.5 metres (566 ft).^[1002] The cathedral also became the longest period of construction history since 1882, and reached its maximum height though the magnum opus of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí's legacy remains years away from completion.^[1003]

Since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted major sporting events led to the postponement and cancellations in the early-2020s, technological advances growing popularity throughout the decade like digital live broadcasts from the successful 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Football, horse racing, basketball, athletics, tennis, volleyball, baseball, and cricket became more popular for digital audiences during the decade.^[1004]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation or rescheduling of numerous sporting events globally. The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo were postponed to July–August 2021. This was the first Olympic Games to be postponed rather than cancelled in history since World War II.^[1005]

Zimbabwean sports administrator and politician Kirsty Coventry became the first woman, the first multicultural, and the first African President of the International Olympic Committee, following the resignation of Thomas Bach.^[1006][1007] She is also the second youngest person and second Olympic medallist to be elected to the position since Pierre de Coubertin and Thomas Bach, her achievements are focused on feminism and gender equality in sports.

The International Olympic Committee has begun a new policy of authorizing up to 5 additional sports per edition of the Olympic Games, and this rule applies to both the Summer and Winter Games. This rule came into effect starting with the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[1008]

Football

Argentine and French footballersLionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé was voted as the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Football's popularity has continued global dominance, while also undergoing significant shifts due to various factors, Argentina and Spain won the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup by defeating France and England,^[1009][1010] with Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmatí winning the Golden Balls,^[1011][1012] while Hinata Miyazawa and Kylian Mbappé winning the Golden Boots.^[1013][1014]

Baseball

MLB players like Shohei Otani of the Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the Yankees are the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and stolen bases and a six-time MLB All-Star MVP winner, followed by the Dodgers victory at the 2024 World Series, and again in 2025 over Toronto Blue Jays

Baseball had a notable resurgence, particularly within its traditional strongholds, Japan and the United States. Japan defeated the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic with a score of 3–2, winning their 3rd title in the event.^[1015][1016] Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani was named the MVP of the tournament. He became the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season and was unanimously named the 2024 National League MVP. Rivaling Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Ohtani led the Los AngelesDodgers to victory in the 2024 World Series, and again in 2025 over Toronto Blue Jays.^{[1017][1018][1019]}

Venezuela had landslide victories over Japan and Italy in the quarterfinal and semifinal and won this year's World Baseball Classic tournament, beating the United States 3–2 in the 2026 World Baseball Classic championship, with Eugenio Suarez hitting a go-ahead double in the top of the 9th to clinch their first title. It was the first major international sporting competition won by Venezuela since the 1945 Amateur World Series, and the second time in Latin America since 2013.^[1020]Maikel García of Venezuela was named the MVP of the tournament.^[1021]

The tournament has hit new high levels in attendance and US Television viewership: the 2023 attendance record was broken before the pool play was ended, and US viewership of the final hit 10 million viewers for the first time ever.^[1022][1023]

Shohei Otani and Mookie Betts met with US presidentDonald Trump at the White House in April 2025.^[1024]

Basketball

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won Finals MVPs during the decade, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (2021), the Denver Nuggets (2023), and the Oklahoma City Thunder (2025) respectively

Shortly into the decade, on January 26, 2020, 5-time NBA champion, 2008 NBA MVP, two-time Olympic gold medallist and Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, died in a California helicopter crash along with seven other people.^{[1025][1026][1027]} A number of tributes and memorials subsequently followed, and the All-Star Game MVP Award was renamed in Bryant's honour.^[1028]

Basketball has been characterized by significant global growth and dominance in strong youth engagement, the 2023 FIBA World Cup followed by Germany won by defeating Serbia.^[1029]

On February 7, 2023, LeBron James, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, scored his 38,388th career point in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.

On the night of February 1–2, 2025, Luka Dončić was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in a three-team deal facilitated by the Utah Jazz.^[1030]

Food delivery apps such as Deliveroo, DoorDash, Instacart, Menulog, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Bolt Food, Wolt, and Just Eat Takeaway became more popular since to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1031][1032] Indoor dining was also closed in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and upon re-opening the usage of QR codes and other technologies in the restaurant industry increased compared to the 2010s in order to comply with pandemic restrictions.^[1033][1034]

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, online grocery shopping has substantially grown and in the first few months of the pandemic, online grocery shopping increased by 300%.^[1035] Before the pandemic occurred, food shopping activity accounted for 9% of the market, now 63% of consumers worldwide have purchased more groceries online after the outbreak than they did before they were socially isolated.^[1036]

Books published throughout the decade include The Vanishing Half, Leave the World Behind, Transcendent Kingdom, Memorial and The City We Became. Recent releases on this decade include How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates, Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange, Wikipedia @ 20 by Joseph M. Reagle Jr. and Jackie Koerner, and The Candy House.^[1037][1038]

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