2024

So far, this year has witnessed the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war, the war in Sudan, and the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel. The continuation of the Israel–Hamas war has further caused spillover into many countries, including a crisis in the Red Sea impacting global shipping.

Approximately 79 countries, representing around four billion people, are expected to conduct national elections throughout the course of the year, including eight out of ten of the world's most populous countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and the United States). The European Parliament will also hold elections.

January

• January 1
  • Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates become BRICS members.
  • The Republic of Artsakh is formally dissolved as Nagorno-Karabakh unifies with Azerbaijan.
  • A 7.5 Mww earthquake strikes the western coast of Japan, killing at least 244 people and injuring 1,297 others. A further five are killed the next day when a Coast Guard aircraft carrying humanitarian aid collides with a Japan Airlines passenger jet, destroying both aircraft. All 379 people aboard the passenger jet are evacuated safely.
  • Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use the port of Berbera. Ethiopia also says that it will eventually recognize Somaliland's independence, becoming the first country to do so.
• January 2 – 2023 Marshallese general election: The Legislature of the Marshall Islands elects Hilda Heine as President for a second non-consecutive term during its first session following the general election.
• January 3 – 2024 Kerman bombings: An Islamic State double bombing kills 94 people during a memorial event commemorating the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran. The bombing was carried out using two briefcase bombs placed at the entrance that were detonated remotely.
• January 7 – 2024 Bangladeshi general election: The Awami League, led by incumbent Sheikh Hasina, wins a fourth consecutive term amid protests by opposition parties and a large drop in voter turnout.
• January 8 – 2024 conflict in Ecuador: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declares a state of emergency following the escape of Los Choneros drug cartel leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar from prison. The military was deployed onto the streets and into prisons, while setting a national nighttime curfew.
• January 11 – Riots break out throughout Papua New Guinea after an alleged rounding error causes pay cuts in police officers and soldiers.
• January 12 – Operation Prosperity Guardian: A U.S.-led coalition launches air strikes at Houthi militant locations in Yemen, marking a retaliation to the Houthis' attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
• January 13 – 2024 Taiwanese presidential election: Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party wins with 40% of the vote.
• January 14
  • Margrethe II formally abdicates as Queen of Denmark on the 52nd anniversary of her accession, with her eldest son Frederik succeeding her as King Frederik X.
  • 2024 Comorian presidential election: Amid an opposition boycott, incumbent president Azali Assoumani wins re-election with 62.9% of the vote and only 16.3% voter turnout.
• January 15 – Following a brief political crisis in the aftermath of the 2023 elections, Bernardo Arévalo is inaugurated as the 52nd President of Guatemala.
• January 16 – Iran carries out a series of missile and drone strikes within Pakistan's Balochistan province, claiming that it had targeted the Iranian Baloch militant group Jaish ul-Adl.
• January 18 – Pakistan conducts retaliatory airstrikes on Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province.
• January 19 – Japan becomes the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, with its SLIM mission.
• January 24 – 2024 Korochansky Ilyushin Il-76 crash: A Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane carrying (according to Russia) 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three guards crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, near the Ukrainian border, killing everybody on board.
• January 26
  • Israel–Hamas war: The UN's International Court of Justice rules that Israel must take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, but stops short of ordering an immediate halt to operations.
  • 2024 Tuvaluan general election: Kausea Natano, the incumbent Prime Minister of Tuvalu, loses reelection to Parliament. A month later, Feleti Teo was elected prime minister.
• January 31 – Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Iskandar ascends to the throne as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

February

• February 2 – The US launches airstrikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in response to a deadly drone attack on a US military base.
• February 4
  • President of Namibia Hage Geingob dies at the age of 82, and is succeeded by his vice-president Nangolo Mbumba.
  • 2024 Salvadoran general election: Incumbent President Nayib Bukele wins the election with over 80% of the vote, becoming the first president to be reelected in El Salvador since 1944.
• February 6 – Former President of Chile Sebastián Piñera dies in a helicopter crash at the age of 74.
• February 7 – 2024 Azerbaijani presidential election: Amid an opposition boycott, President Ilham Aliyev is reelected to a fifth term.
• February 8 – 2024 Pakistani general election: Independent politicians, most of whom are members of the banned political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, win a plurality of seats in the National Assembly.
• February 11 – 2024 Finnish presidential election: In the closest presidential election in Finnish history, Alexander Stubb is elected president in the second round.
• February 14 – 2024 Indonesian general election: Prabowo Subianto wins the presidential election, and the Democratic Party of Struggle wins the most votes in the legislative election.
• February 22 – American company Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander becomes the first commercial vehicle to land on the Moon.
• February 28 – 2024 Haitian jailbreak: A state of emergency is declared by the Haitian government after gangs storm two prisons and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
• February 29 – Israel–Hamas war: Soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces open fire on a crowd of civilians in Gaza City, killing more than a hundred people, as the Palestinian casualties of the war exceed 30,000.

March

• March 7
  • As the final Nordic country to join the alliance, Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming its 32nd member after Finland a year earlier.
  • 287 students are abducted by gunmen from a government-owned school in Kaduna State, Nigeria. They are released on March 24.
• March 10 – 2024 Portuguese legislative election: The Democratic Alliance wins a plurality of seats and forms a minority government amid losses by the incumbent Socialist Party and major gains by the right-wing Chega party.
• March 11 – Haitian acting Prime Minister and President Ariel Henry announces his pending resignation from both offices amid an ongoing crisis marked by gang warfare in the country.
• March 13 – The Artificial Intelligence Act, the world's first comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, is passed by the European Union.
• March 15–17 – 2024 Russian presidential election: Incumbent Vladimir Putin is re-elected for a fifth term.
• March 22 – Islamic State-affiliated gunmen attack concertgoers at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Russia, killing at least 144 people and injuring 551.
• March 24 – 2024 Senegalese presidential election: Bassirou Diomaye Faye is elected president after his party and its former candidate Ousmane Sonko were disqualified.
• March 25 – The UN Security Council passes a resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
• March 26 – A container ship collides with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, causing a total collapse of the bridge and the deaths of six people.^{[importance?]}
• March 31 – Bulgaria and Romania become members of the Schengen Area through sea and air routes.

April

• April 1 – Israel attacks the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing 16 people.
• April 3 – A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 strikes off the eastern coast of Taiwan, with small tsunamis reaching heights of 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) hitting Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
• April 4 – The 2024 Kuwaiti general election is held.
• April 5 – Ecuadorian police raid the Mexican embassy in Quito in order to arrest former vice-president Jorge Glas, who had been granted political asylum by Mexico. This action violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and Mexico and Nicaragua break off diplomatic relations with Ecuador.
• April 6 – Peter Pellegrini is elected President of Slovakia in the second round of the 2024 Slovak presidential election.
• April 8 – A total solar eclipse is visible across North America.
• April 9 – After Leo Varadkar handed in his resignation, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris becomes Ireland's youngest Taoiseach after a Dáil vote of 88–69 and being appointed by President Michael D. Higgins.
• April 10 – 2024 South Korean legislative election: The Democratic Party and Democratic Alliance wins 176 seats, while the People Power and People Future, to which President Yoon Suk Yeol belongs, wins only 108 seats.
• April 13 – Iran launches retaliatory strikes against Israel after an Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus earlier in the month.
• April 16 – 2024 Persian Gulf floods: At least 32 people are killed when heavy rainfall strikes the Middle East, causing flash flooding. This caused many disruptions for Emirates airline at Dubai International Airport.
• April 17
  • 2024 Solomon Islands general election: Incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's OUR Party wins a plurality of seats.
  • 2024 Croatian parliamentary election: Incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's Croatian Democratic Union coalition wins a plurality of seats.
• April 19 – Israel conducts airstrikes against Iran, in response to Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel earlier on April 13.

• May 5 – 2024 Panamanian general election.
• May 6 – 2024 Chadian presidential election.
• May 7–11 – Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden.
• May 8 – 2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election and the second round of the 2024 North Macedonian presidential election.
• May 12 – 2024 Lithuanian presidential election.
• May 15 – Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore since 2004, is expected to hand over power to his deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong, ahead of the next general election in 2025.
• May 19 – 2024 Dominican Republic general election.
• May 29 – 2024 South African general election.
• May 29 – 2024 Malagasy parliamentary election.
• June 1
  • The 2024 Indian general election will conclude.
  • 2024 Icelandic presidential election.
  • 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
• June 2 – 2024 Mexican general election.
• June 6–9 – 2024 European Parliament election.
• June 9 – 2024 Belgian general election.
• June 28 – 2024 Mongolian parliamentary election.
• June 29 – 2024 Mauritanian presidential election.
• July 15–16 – 2024 Rwandan general election.
• July 26 – 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
• July 28 – 2024 Venezuelan presidential election.
• August 17 – Nusantara will become the new capital of Indonesia, replacing Jakarta.
• September 7 – 2024 Algerian presidential election.
• September 15 – 2024 Romanian presidential election.
• October 6 – 2024 Brazilian municipal elections, on which citizens capable of voting will vote on mayors and councilors for municipalities on which they can vote.
• October 9 – 2024 Mozambican general election.
• October 13 – 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election.
• October 20 – 2024 Moldovan presidential election.
• October 26 – 2024 Georgian parliamentary election.
• October 27 – 2024 Uruguayan general election.
• November 5 – 2024 United States presidential election
• November 12 – 2024 Palauan general election.
• November 13 – 2024 Somaliland presidential election.
• November 27 – 2024 Namibian general election.
• December 7 – 2024 Ghanaian general election.
• December 8 – 2024 Romanian parliamentary election.
• December 17 – Assuming the next United Kingdom general election has not already taken place, the Parliament elected in 2019 will automatically be dissolved, with the next general election taking place no later than January 28, 2025.
• December 24 – The 2025 Jubilee will take place on this date.

Date unknown

• June – 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election.
• September – 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
• September or October – 2024 Austrian legislative election.
• October
  • 2024 Botswana general election.
  • 2024 Georgian presidential election.
• December – 2024 Croatian presidential election.