WORLD HISTORY · 2022 日本語
Events of 2022Reiwa 4 (Japan) · Year of the Tiger
What happened in 2022?
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and in April a sightseeing boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido. In July, former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was shot and killed, and in November Japan came from behind to beat Germany at the World Cup.
- Undersea volcano in Tonga erupts massivelyOceania
- Beijing Winter Olympics openAsia
- Russia launches full-scale invasion of UkraineEurope
- Earthquake off Fukushima reaches upper 6 intensityAsia
- Fed begins raising rates to fight inflationNorth America
- Shiretoko sightseeing boat sinksAsia
- Former Prime Minister Abe shot and killedAsia
- Japan comes from behind to beat GermanyAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
2022 at a glance
| Japanese era | Reiwa 4 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Tiger |
| Age of people born in 2022 | Turn 4 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 2021 (Reiwa 3) ／ 2023 (Reiwa 5) |
| Events | 88 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Events of 2022 (timeline · 88)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismisses Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and declares state of emergency over the 2022 Kazakh unrest.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupts, cutting off communications with Tonga and causing a tsunami across the Pacific.
Mutinying Burkinabè soldiers led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba depose and detain President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid widespread anti-government protests.
Canadian truck drivers and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on Parliament Hill against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city.
Sue Gray, a senior civil servant in the United Kingdom, publishes an initial version of her report on the Downing Street Partygate controversy.
Five-year-old Moroccan boy Rayan Aourram falls into a 32-meter (105 feet) deep well in Ighran village in Tamorot commune, Chefchaouen Province, Morocco, but dies four days later, before rescue workers reached him.
In the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region. The action is condemned by the United Nations.
Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian forces capture the city of Kherson during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which subsequently began the start of the Russian occupation and military-civilian administration in Kherson. Kherson is the only regional capital in Ukraine that Russia captured.
2022 Hungarian presidential election: The National Assembly of Hungary elects former minister for Family Affairs, Katalin Novák, as president of Hungary in a 137–51 vote, becoming the first female president in the country's history.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, killing 4 people and injuring 225.
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing 132 people.
Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed for the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the first black female justice.
Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Russian warship Moskva is struck by two anti-ship missiles and sinks into the Black Sea.
Russo-Ukrainian war: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-era policy attempting to expedite American equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
Queen Elizabeth II misses the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years. It was the first time that a new session of Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State.
Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed while covering a raid in Jenin. Israel eventually admitted and apologized for the murder, after initial denials.
The Burmese military executes at least 37 villagers during the Mon Taing Pin massacre in Sagaing, Myanmar.
Russo-Ukrainian war: Russia claims full control of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after a nearly three-month siege.
Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party is sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia after winning the 2022 Australian federal election, ending 9 years of conservative rule.
A mass shooting occurs at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, resulting in the deaths of 21 people, including 19 children.
Following a request from Ankara, the United Nations officially changes the name of the Republic of Turkey in the organization from what was previously known as "Turkey" to "Türkiye".
A constitutional referendum is held in Kazakhstan following violent protests and civil unrest against the government.
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states. This overturns the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
Two people are killed and 21 more injured after a gunman opens fire at three sites in Oslo in a suspected Islamist anti-LGBTQ+ attack.
The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the longest bridge of Bangladesh, Padma Bridge.
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Battle of Sievierodonetsk ends after weeks of heavy fighting with the Russian capture of the city, leading to the Battle of Lysychansk.
British government ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resign from the second Johnson ministry, beginning the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.
The Georgia Guidestones, a monument in the United States, are heavily damaged in a bombing, and are dismantled later the same day.
Boris Johnson announces his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party following days of pressure from the Members of Parliament (MPs) during the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is shot and killed with an improvised firearm due to resentment against the Unification Church.
Catastrophic floods devastate Eastern Kentucky, resulting in 45 fatalities and causing damage to thousands of homes and businesses.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida.
An explosion destroys a market in Armenia, killing six people and injuring dozens.
Phoenix shooting: A man opens fire on pedestrians outside of a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, resulting in the deaths of three people, including the perpetrator.
Russo-Ukrainian war: Ukraine begins its southern counteroffensive in the Kherson Oblast, eventually culminating in the liberation of the city of Kherson.
Eighteen people are killed and 23 others are injured by a suicide bombing at a Sunni mosque in Herat, Afghanistan.
Ten people are killed and 15 are injured in a stabbing spree in 13 locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, Saskatchewan.
At least 93 people die and 25 are missing after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Sichuan, China.
Liz Truss is declared the winner of the UK Conservative Party leadership election, beating Rishi Sunak.
Russo-Ukrainian war: Ukraine begins its Kharkiv counteroffensive, surprising Russian forces and retaking over 3,000 square kilometers of land, recapturing the entire Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River, within the next week.
Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and is replaced by Liz Truss. Their meetings with Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle were the Queen's final official duties before her death two days later.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning for 70 years. Her son Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends the throne upon her death as Charles III.
Death of Queen Elizabeth II: The Queen's coffin is taken from Buckingham Palace, placed on a gun carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and moved in a procession to Westminster Hall for her lying in state over the next four days with the queue of mourners stretching for miles along the River Thames.
During the Let Yet Kone massacre, the Burmese military kills 13 villagers, including eight children, after attacking a school in Sagaing Region, Myanmar.
The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is held at Westminster Abbey, London.
Voting begins in the five-day sham annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine, leading to Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
A mass shooting occurs at a school in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, resulting in the deaths of 18 people, including 11 children.
Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Cayo Costa State Park, Florida as a category four hurricane, killing 169 and doing $113 billion in damage, becoming Florida's costliest hurricane and the deadliest in 89 years.
One hundred and thirty-five are killed in a human crush following a football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java, Indonesia.
Ten people are killed and eight are injured in an explosion at petrol station in Creeslough, Ireland.
Ales Bialiatski, along with two organisations, Memorial & Center for Civil Liberties, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig are jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
2022 Bratislava shooting, killing 3 (including the perpetrator) and injuring one. The shooting occurred outside of a gay bar in Bratislava known as Tepláreň. Two people (excluding the perpetrator) died as a result of the shooting: Juraj Vankulič, a non-binary person, and Matúš Horváth, a bisexual man. The perpetrator (Juraj Krajčík) was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot the morning after the attack.
Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country's political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister (49 days).
Myanmar Air Force airstrikes a concert in Hpakant Township, Kachin state killing at least 80 people, including senior Kachin Independence Organisation officials, in the Hpakant massacre.
Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term of the paramount leader of China.
At least 156 die at a crowd crush during a Halloween celebration in Itaewon district, Seoul, South Korea.
At least 100 people are killed and over 300 are injured by a double car bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia.
A pedestrian suspension bridge collapses in the city of Morbi, Gujarat, leading to the deaths of at least 135 people.
A peace agreement is signed between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, ending the Tigray War.
The Khash massacre, which refers to the repression of protesters by Iranian security forces, resulting in 18 deaths and more than 20 injuries.
Russo-Ukrainian War: Ukrainian armed forces enter the city of Kherson following a successful two-month southern counteroffensive.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collide in mid-air over Dallas Executive Airport during an airshow, killing six.
A mass stabbing occurs in Moscow, Idaho in which four University of Idaho students are killed in off-campus housing.
Artemis Program: NASA launches Artemis 1 on the first flight of the Space Launch System, the start of the program's future missions to the moon.
A gunman kills five and injures 17 at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in Qatar. This is the first time the tournament was held in the Middle East.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java kills between 335 and 602 people.
A shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia leaves seven workers dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.
Five days after the general elections which resulted in a hung parliament, opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is officially named as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia.
Massive power outage after Moore County substation attack that leaves 45,000 people without power for five days, leading to an FBI probe.
A landslide occurs at a camp at an organic farm near the town of Batang Kali in Selangor, Malaysia, trapping 92 people and killing 31.
Argentina win the FIFA World Cup final, defeating title holders France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 2022 in the Japanese calendar?
2022 was Reiwa 4 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2022?
2022 is the Year of the Tiger.
How old is someone born in 2022?
They turn 4 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 2022?
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and in April a sightseeing boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido. In July, former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was shot and killed, and in November Japan came from behind to beat Germany at the World Cup.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.