What happened in 2020

World20

• Jan 20COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese authorities publicly confirm human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
• Jan 23COVID-19 pandemic: The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the initial COVID-19 outbreak, is quarantined, with all scheduled public transport services and intercity flights halted.
• Jan 30COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern, the sixth time that this measure has been invoked since 2009.
• Feb 11The COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization (WHO) names the disease COVID-19.
• Mar 9COVID-19 pandemic: Italy becomes the first country to implement a nationwide quarantine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Mar 11COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
• Mar 12Global stock markets crashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the United States travel ban on the Schengen Area. The DJIA goes into free fall, closing at over −2,300 points, the worst loss for the index since 1987.
• Mar 13COVID-19 pandemic
• Mar 17COVID-19 pandemic:
• Mar 18COVID-19 pandemic:
• MarCOVID-19 pandemicIn March 2020, the WHO declared a pandemic. Countries closed their borders, and schools and offices moved online from home.
• Nov 9Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign a ceasefire agreement, formally ending the war.
• Nov 15The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries to form the world's largest free-trade bloc, covering a third of the world's population.
• Nov 19The PlayStation 5 is released worldwide.'
• DecmRNA vaccines come into useThey were ready against COVID-19 in less than a year. They built on a way to make mRNA cause less inflammation, found by Karikó and Weissman in 2005, and the two received the Nobel Prize in 2023.

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Japan1

• Aug 15The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio, which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius.

North America18

• Jan 262020 Calabasas helicopter crash: Nine people are killed in an accident in Calabasas, California, including retired basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna; cause later attributed to heavy fog.
• Jan 29U.S. President Donald Trump signs the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, a North American trade agreement set to replace NAFTA.
• Feb 29A conditional peace agreement is signed between the United States and the Taliban. The U.S. begins gradually withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan on March 10.
• Mar 9International share prices fall sharply in response to a Russo-Saudi oil price war and the impact of COVID-19. The DJIA plunges more than 2,000 points, the largest fall in its history up to that point. Oil prices also plunged by as much as 30% in early trading, the biggest fall since 1991.
• Mar 26Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed. The U.S. surpasses China and Italy in the total number of known COVID-19 cases, with at least 81,321 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.
• Apr 27COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes 3 million worldwide, while the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. passes 1 million.
• AprThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink 3%, the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• May 26Protests caused by the murder of George Floyd break out across hundreds of cities in the U.S. and around the world. These are followed by further protests and rallies on June 6 against racism and police brutality around the world.
• May 30The first crewed flight of the SpaceX Dragon 2 (initially scheduled for May 27 but delayed due to weather) is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011.
• Jun 28The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 10 million worldwide. The U.S. continues to report the highest number of any country as it reaches 2.5 million, a quarter of all cases globally.
• Jul 15The Twitter accounts of prominent political figures, CEOs, and celebrities are hacked to promote a bitcoin scam.
• Jul 30NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission includes technology demonstrations to prepare for future human missions.
• Aug 27Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane to ever strike the state in terms of windspeed, tied with the 1856 Last Island Hurricane.
• Nov 32020 United States presidential election: The election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President of the United States is called by many news media organizations after remaining vote counts (November 7) come in from key states delayed by an influx of mail-in ballots caused by the pandemic, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump.
• Nov 15NASA and SpaceX launch the SpaceX Crew-1 mission from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A to the ISS, the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule.

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Europe17

• Jan 52019–20 Croatian presidential election: The second round of voting is held, and Zoran Milanović of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia defeats incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
• Feb 19Hanau shootings: Eleven people are killed and five injured in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany.
• Mar 18The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 is cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe, the first cancellation in the contest's 64-year history.
• Mar 28The region of Uusimaa (with the capital city Helsinki) is temporarily isolated from the rest of Finland due to increased COVID-19 infections.
• Apr 25COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000. The UK becomes the fifth country to report 20,000 deaths.
• May 5COVID-19 pandemic: The U.K. death toll from COVID-19 becomes the highest in Europe at 32,313 after exceeding the death toll of 29,029 in Italy.
• Jun 27The 2020 Icelandic presidential election is held and incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is reelected.
• Jun 28The first round of voting of the 2020 Polish presidential election is held.
• Jul 7COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of people rally outside the House of the National Assembly of Serbia in Belgrade in response to stricter lockdown measures proposed by President Aleksandar Vučić following an increase of cases in the city.
• Jul 12The second round of voting for the 2020 Polish presidential election is held and incumbent president Andrzej Duda is reelected.
• Aug 9A presidential election in Belarus which led to incumbent Alexander Lukashenko's reelection sparks protests throughout the country after major opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya rejected the results. Seven days later, the largest political march in Belarusian history takes place, with an estimated 300,000 people in Minsk and 200,000 in other Belarusian cities and towns.
• Nov 12020 Moldovan presidential election: Former Prime Minister and Minister of Education Maia Sandu is elected as the 6th President of Moldova, becoming the first woman to ever hold the post.
• Dec 24The United Kingdom and the European Union agree to a comprehensive free trade agreement prior to the end of the transition period.
• Dec 29The 2020 Petrinja earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 strikes Croatia, killing seven and injuring more than 20.
• Dec 31The transition period following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on January 31, 2020, expires.

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USSR / Russia2

• Jul 1Russian voters back a constitutional amendment that, among other things, enables Vladimir Putin to seek two further six-year terms when his current term ends in 2024, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.
• Aug 11COVID-19 pandemic: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia has approved the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.

Asia20

• Mar 13The government of Nepal announces that Mount Everest will be closed to climbers and the public for the rest of the season due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.
• Mar 24Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reports that the domestically transmitted epidemic is now under control. Two days later, China temporarily suspends entry for foreign nationals with visas or residence permits, effective midnight on March 28.
• Apr 17China revises the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan upward, adding 1,290 more fatalities to bring the country's reported COVID-19 deaths to 4,632.
• May 9Several Chinese and Indian soldiers are injured in a cross-border clash at the Nathu La crossing. About 150 troops participated in the face-off, which involved fistfights and stone-throwing.
• May 22Flight PK8303, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft, crashes in a residential area near Karachi, in Pakistan, killing 97 of the 99 total people on board and injuring dozens on the ground.
• May 23COVID-19 pandemic: China reports no new cases for the first time since the pandemic began, according to the National Health Commission.
• May 27The Chinese National People's Congress votes in favour of national security legislation that criminalizes "secession", "subversion", "terrorism" and foreign interference in Hong Kong; the legislation grants sweeping powers to the Chinese central government to suppress the Hong Kong democracy movement, including banning activist groups and curtailing civil liberties. The U.S. government responds by declaring Hong Kong is "no longer autonomous" under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act.
• Jun 15At least 20 Indian soldiers and over 40 Chinese forces are killed or injured in skirmishes in the disputed Galwan Valley, the largest escalation along the Sino-Indian border in five decades.
• Jun 30China passes the controversial Hong Kong national security law, allowing China to crack down on opposition to Beijing at home or abroad.
• Jul 25COVID-19 pandemic: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convenes an emergency meeting, declares a state of emergency, and orders the lockdown of Kaesong after a person suspected of having COVID-19 returned from South Korea. If confirmed, it would be the first case to be officially acknowledged by North Korea.
• Aug 7Air India Express Flight 1344 crashes after overrunning the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, killing 19 of the 191 people on board.
• Aug 30COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 25 million worldwide. India continues to record the highest daily increase of cases.
• Sep 27Beginning of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: deadly clashes erupt in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Artsakh introduce martial law and mobilize forces.
• Oct 15President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigns from office after weeks of massive protests in the wake of the October 2020 parliamentary election; opposition leader Sadyr Japarov assumes office as both the acting president and Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan.
• Dec 2Three activists in Hong Kong were jailed for their roles in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, with Joshua Wong getting the heaviest at 13.5 months.

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Middle East14

• Jan 3A United States drone strike at Baghdad International Airport kills ten people, including the intended target, an Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
• Jan 8Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by Iranian forces shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board.
• Jan 8Iran launches ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. soldiers, injuring over 100 personnel.
• Jan 10Haitham bin Tariq succeeds Qaboos bin Said as the Sultan of Oman.
• Feb 272020 stock market crash: Triggered by fears of the spreading of COVID-19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunges by 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to close at 25,766.64, its largest one-day point decline at the time. This follows several days of large falls, marking the worst week for the index since the 2008 financial crisis.
• Apr 20Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Alliance leader Benny Gantz agree on a deal to form a unity government, thus ending more than a year of political deadlock. As part of the deal, Netanyahu will hold onto his position for 18 more months, with Gantz replacing him afterwards.
• May 12Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a suicide bomber.
• Aug 1The Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE becomes operational following delays since 2017. It is the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab world.
• Aug 2COVID-19 pandemic: In rare talks, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hold a video call to discuss various regional issues, including combating COVID-19 in their respective countries.
• Aug 4An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills at least 218 people, injures thousands, and severely damages the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at $10–15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless. The following day, the Lebanese government declares a two-week state of emergency.
• Aug 13Israel and the UAE agree to normalise relations, marking the third Israel–Arab peace deal.
• Sep 4Bahrain and Israel agree to normalise relations, marking the fourth Israel–Arab peace deal.
• Sep 29The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah dies at the age of 91. Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named his successor.
• Oct 302020 Aegean Sea earthquake: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing 119 people and injuring over 1,000.

Latin America5

• May 22COVID-19 pandemic: Brazil overtakes Russia to become the country with the second highest number of COVID-19 cases, with over 330,000 reported. President Jair Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat of the virus.
• Jul 52020 Dominican Republic general election: Modern Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader is elected president of the Dominican Republic, the Modern Revolutionary Party wins 17 out of 32 seats in the Senate and 86 out of 190 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
• Nov 7Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua, killing over 100 people in Central America as a category 4.
• Nov 16Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall, devastating the same areas.
• Dec 14A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

Africa4

• Jan 9Islamic State militants in the Greater Sahara assaulted a Nigerien military base in the battle of Chinagodrar, killing at least 89 Nigerien soldiers.
• Jun 4Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) says they are in full control of the capital, Tripoli, after forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) retreat from the territory following months of intense fighting in the city.
• Jun 22The 2020 Malawian presidential election is held and Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party is elected president.
• Aug 18A mutiny in a military base by soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces develops into a coup d'état. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, among other senior governmental and military officers, are arrested. The next day, Keïta announces his resignation on state television.

Oceania1

• Mar 13Formula 1, the FIA and the local race organisers announced the postponements of the season opening 2020 Australian Grand Prix due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The race would be subsequently cancelled and the season wouldn't start until July.