World in revival mode as pandemic devastates all

Death toll

January 15:

The global death toll passes 2 million.

February 25:

2.5 million.

April 17:

3 million.

July 8:

4 million.

November 1:

5 million.

December 23:

5.38 million

Country-wise data

Feb 22: The United States becomes the first country to surpass 500,000 deaths from the virus.

June 20: Brazil becomes the second country

Confirmed cases 

Jan26

The number of confirmed cases exceeds 100 million worldwide.

Apr 29

150 million.

Aug 4

200 million

Dec 12

Russia becomes the fifth country to surpass 10 million COVID-19 cases after the United States, India, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

Dec 23

277 million Infections

Dec 6

The United States becomes the first country to surpass 50 million COVID-19 cases.

Vaccinations

FEB 01

The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 100 million.

MAR 25

500 million

APR 24

1 billion. (Half of these doses have been administered in just three countries - the United States, China and India).

JUN 29

The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 3 billion.

Vaccines

MAY 7

The World Health Organization gives emergency use listing to the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine, the first non– Western vaccine to be authorised

JUN 1

Sinovac vaccine, the second non–Western vaccine to be authorised.

JUN 14

Novavax announces 90.4 per cent overall efficacy in its Phase 3 U.S. and Mexico trial.

NOV 3 

Covaxin vaccine, the third non–Western vaccine to be authorised.

DEC 17 

emergency use listing to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

Omicron scare

November 26: The World Health Organization convenes an emergency meeting in Geneva amid concerns over Omicron, a highly mutated variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa that appears more infectious than Delta. 

JAN 4

A British judge blocks the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, while Mexico offers him political asylum.

The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.

JAN 6

Supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol, disrupting certification of the 2020 presidential election and forcing Congress to evacuate. Five people died during the riot, including a police officer and a woman who was shot and killed inside the Capitol building. The event is classified as a domestic terrorist attack and drew international condemnation.

JAN 10

 Kim Jong-un is elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, inheriting the title from his father Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011.

JAN 20

 Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States.

JAN 22

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, comes into effect.

FEB 1

A coup d'état in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule leading to widespread demonstrations across the country.

FEB 9

COVID-19 pandemic: A joint WHO–China investigation into the source of the outbreak concludes. Investigators deem a Wuhan laboratory leak to be "extremely unlikely", with a "natural reservoir" in bats being a more likely origin.

MAR 6

Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq. It is the first ever meeting between a pope and a grand ayatollah.

MAR 23

The Israeli general elections take place, the fourth Knesset election in two years

Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, runs aground and obstructs the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade. The ship is freed on March 29

APR 13

Japan's government approves the dumping of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, with full support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The decision is opposed by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

APR 22

World leaders mark Earth Day by hosting a virtual summit on climate change, during which more ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions are proposed, including a 40% cut by 2030 for the United States.

APR 28

The European Union approves the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, governing the relationship between the EU and UK after Brexit.

MAY 17

Discovery, Inc. agrees to buy media conglomerate Warner Media and all of its subsidiaries, from AT&T for US$43 billion. The merger is set to be complete the following year.

JUNE 2

The 2021 Israeli presidential election is held, and won by Isaac Herzog. In order to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power, Naftali Bennett agrees to form a coalition with the Israeli opposition as a rotation government that will come to take effect after eleven days.

JUNE 13

Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, is voted out of office; Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel and as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel, respectively.

JULY 13

After the Supreme Court declares his incumbency unconstitutional, KP Oli is succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba as 43rd Prime Minister of Nepal.

JULY 18

 An international investigation reveals that spyware sold by Israel's NSO Group to different governments is being used to target heads of state, along with thousands of activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.

JULY 21

The International Olympic Committee awards Brisbane the right to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

JULY 21- AUG 8

The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 24 July–9 August 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 24–September 5

The 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 25 August–6 September 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 26

2021 Kabul airport attack: At least 182 people are killed, including 13 U.S. service members, in a suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport.

September 7: El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency.

September 14: North Korea demonstrates two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea demonstrates its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.[195]

September 15

AUKUS: A trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States is formed, to counter the influence of China. This includes enabling Australia to build its first nuclear-powered submarine fleet.[197]

October 3:

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and assorted media partners publish a set of 11.9 million documents leaked from 14 financial services companies known as the Pandora Papers, revealing offshore financial activities that involve multiple current and former world leaders.[208]

October 23 :

Colombia's most wanted drug lord, Dario Antonio Úsuga, whose Gulf Clan controls many smuggling routes into the US and other countries, is captured by Colombia's armed forces.

October 31 – November 13 :

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held, after being postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19.[225] A deal is agreed by world leaders, which includes a "phasedown" of unabated coal power, a 30% cut in methane emissions by 2030, plans for a halt to deforestation by 2030, and increased financial support for developing countries.

November 26 : COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization convenes an emergency meeting in Geneva amid concerns over Omicron, a highly mutated

variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa that appears more infectious than Delta. 

December 6:

The United States announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record.[246] Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia join shortly after.