2010s  File:2010s collage v21.png|From left, clockwise: Anti-government protests during the Arab Spring; Crimea is annexed by Russia in 2014; ISIS perpetrates terrorist attacks and captures territory in Syria and Iraq; climate change awareness and the Paris Agreement; the first image of a black hole; same-sex marriage becomes legal in many countries; increasing use of digital and mobile technologies; rises in populism including the UK voting to leave the EU.|420x420px|thumb rect 0 0 400 400 Arab Spring rect 400 0 800 400 Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation rect 800 0 1200 400 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant rect 0 400 600 800 Brexit rect 600 400 1200 800 Paris Agreement rect 0 800 400 1200 Smartphone rect 400 800 800 1200 Obergefell v. Hodges rect 800 800 1200 1200 Black hole The 2010s (pronounced "twenty-tens" or "two thousand (and) tens"; shortened to "the '10s") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on 1 January 2010 and ended on 31 December 2019. The decade began amid a global financial crisis and subsequent international recession dating from the late 2000s. The resulting European sovereign-debt crisis became more pronounced early in the decade and continued to affect the possibility of a global economic recovery. Economic issues, such as austerity, inflation, and an increase in commodity prices, led to unrest in many countries, including the 15-M and Occupy movements. Unrest in some countries – particularly in the Arab world – evolved into socioeconomic crises triggering revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain as well as civil wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen in a widespread phenomenon commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Shifting social attitudes saw LGBT rights and female representation make substantial progress during the decade, particularly in the West and parts of Asia and Africa. The United States continued to retain its global superpower status while an assertive China, along with launching vast economic initiatives and military reforms, sought to expand its influence in the South China Sea and in Africa, solidifying its position as a potential superpower; global competition between China and the U.S. coalesced into a "containment" effort and a trade war. Elsewhere in Asia, the Koreas improved their relations after a prolonged crisis and the War on Terror continued as Osama bin Laden was assassinated by U.S. forces in a raid on his compound in Pakistan as a part of the U.S.'s continued military involvement in many parts of the world.