The 2010s (pronounced "twenty-tens" or "two thousand [and] tens"; shortened to "the '10s" and also known as "the Tens" or simply "the Tweens") was the decade that began on 1 January 2010 and ended on 31 December 2019.
The decade began with an economic recovery from the Great Recession. Inflation and interest rates stayed low and steady throughout the decade, gross world product grew from 2010 to 2019. Global economic recovery accelerated during the latter half of the decade, fueled by strong economic growth in many countries, robust consumer spending, increased investment in infrastructure, and the emergence of new technologies. However, the recovery developed unevenly. Socioeconomic crises in some countries—particularly in the Arab world—triggered political revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain as well as civil wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen in a regional phenomenon that was commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Meanwhile, Europe had to grapple with a debt crisis that was pronounced early in the decade. Shifting social attitudes saw LGBT rights make substantial progress throughout the decade, particularly in developed countries.
Demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 8 February 2011
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (Arabic: ثورة ٢٥ يناير, romanized: Thawrat khamsa wa-ʿišrūn yanāyir), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with National Police Day as a statement against increasing police brutality during the later years of Hosni Mubarak's presidency. It consisted of demonstrations, marches, occupations of plazas, non-violent civil resistance, acts of civil disobedience and strikes. Millions of protesters from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded Mubarak's removal from the office of president of Egypt. Violent clashes between security forces and protesters resulted in at least 846 people killed and over 6,000 injured. Protesters retaliated by burning over 90 police stations across the country.
The Egyptian protesters' grievances focused on legal and political issues, including police brutality, state-of-emergency laws, lack of political freedom, civil liberty, freedom of speech, corruption, high unemployment, food-price inflation and low wages. The protesters' primary demands were the end of the Mubarak regime. Strikes by labour unions added to the pressure on government officials. During the uprising, the capital, Cairo, was described as "a war zone" and the port city of Suez saw frequent violent clashes. Protesters defied a government-imposed curfew, which the police and military could not enforce in any case. Egypt's Central Security Forces, loyal to Mubarak, were gradually replaced by military troops. In the chaos, there was looting by rioters which was instigated (according to opposition sources) by plainclothes police officers. In response, watch groups were organised by civilian vigilantes to protect their neighborhoods. (Full article...)
Image 9A video game is used during a physical therapy session at the Naval Health Clinic in Charleston. (from 2010s in video games)
Image 10Two teen girls in scene style, with dyed hair, bright graphic tops, and edgy jewelry typical of MySpace-era subcultures, 2010. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 11Russian farmer family in 2010, showing a mix of contemporary clothing and traditional folk costume elements. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 12Japanese slim fitting three piece grey suit with window pane check, mid to late 2010s (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 19A teenage American scene girl in 2011, wearing raccoon-striped hair extensions, heavy eyeliner, and colorful accessories typical of the style. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 27American women with popular early 2010s hairstyles, including chunky highlights, flat-ironed layers, and deep side parts with crown volume, 2012. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 28Adele during this decade established herself as the best selling British female artist of all time. Her 21 (2011) and 25 (2015) became two of the best selling albums of the 2010s. (from 2010s in music)
Image 30Woman in a red miniskirt and green cardigan crop, 2012. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 31Three women wearing grunge and streetwear inspired outfits with elements such as distressed jeans, combat boots, tied flannel, and bold lipstick, 2015. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 32For over 15 months it was unclear what exactly happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 until at the end of July 2015 a few remnants of the plane swept to the shores of the island of Réunion (from 2010s)
Image 34The Arab Spring saw mass unrest in the Arab world early in the decade: Government overthrown multiple times Government overthrown Civil war Protests and governmental changes Major protests Minor protests Other protests and militant action outside the Arab world (from 2010s)
Image 42Two women in England, the woman on the left wears a pompadour, while the woman on the right sports side-parted blonde hair with a boho-style headband, 2011. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 44Teenagers in Italy wearing graphic tees, plaid shirts, cutoff shorts, and studded accessories popular early in the decade, 2010. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 48Tame Impala Australian Psychedelic Rock Band (from 2010s in music)
Image 49In 2013, China launched the ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, with over 150 countries announcing participation by the end of the decade. (from 2010s)
Image 50Taylor Swift was one of the most successful country artists of the 2010s. Her albums Speak Now (2010) and Red (2012) topped charts and opened with more than a million copies sold in their first weeks. (from 2010s in music)
Image 66A man wearing a leather Supreme snapback hat while taking a photograph in 2016 (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 6728 February 2014: following the removal of pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from office, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine (from 2010s)
Image 68Devastation in Mosul's old city after recapture from ISIL in 2017 (from 2010s)
Image 79Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias recorded the track "Dirty Dancer", which was released as the second single of Iglesias's album Euphoria and became his seventh Hot Dance Club Play chart topper, tying him with Prince and Michael Jackson as the male with the most No. 1 dance singles. (from 2010s in music)
Image 80In the 2010s, British girl group Little Mix was cited for helping the girl band renaissance in the UK during the late 2000s and into the early 2010s. They are also recognized as one of the most successful girl groups from that decade. (from 2010s in music)
Image 93Two women with blunt bangs wearing vintage-inspired outfits with high-waisted jeans, a peter-pan collar sweater, and retro, 1950s inspired silhouettes in 2013. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 96BRICS, a supranational economic cooperative comprising five major emerging national economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—grew to represent over 3.1 billion people, or about 41 percent of the world population by 2015. (from 2010s)
Image 97An example of an e-girl's aesthetic (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 101Concerns over economic inequality, greed and the influence of corporations on government led to the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 (from 2010s)
Image 108Syrian and Iraqi refugees arriving in Greece. In the 2010s Europe had been severely affected by a huge migration from Africa and Middle East (from 2010s)
Image 110Mumford & Sons were considered one of the most successful British bands of the early 2010s. (from 2010s in music)
Image 111Young men in London, 2010, wearing slim-cut jeans and layered T-shirts and polos, typical of middle-class streetwear influenced by Abercrombie & Fitch. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 112Young women in Hong Kong wearing layered street style with accessories and hairstyles influenced by Japanese gyaru and J-pop aesthetics, 2013. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 119Teenagers in Yangon, Myanmar with trendy, dyed haircuts and slim fit, layered silhouettes inspired by East Asian and American trends, 2014. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 126The PlayStation 4 was released in November 2013 and is the best-selling gaming console of the decade (100+ million units sold worldwide as of August 2019). (from 2010s in culture)
Image 128Teen girls in Brazil wearing casual trends including a lace detail top, black skater skirt, ballet flats, and a chunky owl pendant necklace in 2014. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 143Brazilian girl wearing leg warmers, knitted sweater dress, and pastel hair, blending retro and alternative aesthetics into hipster style, 2011. (from 2010s in fashion)
Image 144In 2014 the One World Trade Center opened its doors in the Financial District of Manhattan, serving as a replacement to the original World Trade Center Twin Towers that were destroyed in 2001. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in 2011 (the same year Osama bin Laden was killed), the 9/11 Memorial was opened. (from 2010s)
Image 145Edward Snowden, former NSA employee who revealed a large number of global surveillance programs. (from 2010s)
Image 153Young woman in Italy with small pouf hairstyle wearing rhinestone-embellished tank top, low-rise skinny jeans, and logo buckle belt in 2010. (from 2010s in fashion)
Ryan is a native of Janesville, Wisconsin, and graduated from Miami University in 1992. He spent five years working for Congress in Washington, D.C., becoming a speechwriter, then returned to Wisconsin in 1997 to work at his family's construction company. He was elected to Congress to represent Wisconsin's 1st congressional district the following year, replacing Mark Neumann, who had vacated the seat to run for U.S. Senate. Ryan went on to represent the district for 20 years. He chaired the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015, and briefly chaired the House Ways and Means Committee in 2015. (Full article...)
... that the board game Glory to Rome, despite being well-received, led to its publisher's bankruptcy in the mid-2010s and has been out of print since?
... that despite being excluded from the standard edition of 1989, "New Romantics" by Taylor Swift was named one of the best songs of the 2010s decade by Rolling Stone?
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