2020s (jan 1, 2020 – dec 31, 2029)

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The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties", shortened to "the '20s") is the current decade in the Gregorian calendar which began on 1 January 2020 and will end on 31 December 2029.

At the very start of the decade, tensions rose between Iran and the United States after the assassination of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani; the tensions calmed after Iran unintentionally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, and the COVID-19 pandemic spread to over 200 countries and territories. The pandemic caused severe global economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression. It led to the postponement or cancellation of sporting, religious, political and cultural events, widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying, and decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Numerous countries implemented mandatory lockdowns on public movement, and there have been more than 30.8 million cases, resulting in more than 957, 000 deaths. The 10 countries that have reported the most COVID-19 cases and largest outbreaks (in alphabetical order) are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Spain and the United States. As of August 5, 2020, the United States reported the highest number of active cases and deaths in the world, with San Marino recording the most deaths of any country per capita, followed by Belgium, Andorra and the United Kingdom. China, France, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea were hard-hit countries early in the pandemic.

Many conflicts that began in the previous decade continued into the 2020s, such as the Syrian Civil War, the Second Libyan Civil War, the War in Donbass, the Iraqi insurgency, the Yemeni Civil War, the South Sudanese Civil War, Rohingya persecution in Myanmar, and the crisis in Venezuela. Conflicts that began before the previous decade have also continued, such as the War in Afghanistan, the greater Iraqi conflict, the Somali Civil War, the Kashmir insurgency, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A huge swarm of desert locusts threatened to engulf massive portions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In tandem with the COVID-19 pandemic, this posed major hazards to billions of people who might be affected. Although experts had thought the insects would die out during the dry season in December 2019, unseasonal rains caused the incursion to reach unanticipated and hazardous levels. The killing of George Floyd led to many protests and riots in 2020, in the United States and internationally.

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