2011 (MMXI) was a common year that started on a Saturday in the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2011th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations; the 11th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 2nd of the 2010s.
The United Nations designated 2011 as the International Year of Forests and the International Year of Chemistry. It was marked by a wave of revolutions in the Arab World known as the Arab Spring, including the beginnings of several unresolved protest movements and armed conflicts.
Read more about 2011: Nobel Prizes, Major Religious Holidays