BirthAlmanac
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The decade

Born in the 2020s

Written . By the BirthAlmanac team.

Years
2020–20267 years so far.
Age in 2026
1 to 6The age a birthday in 2026 brings. Those born in 2026 turn 1 in 2027.
Generations
Generation Alpha and Generation BetaAs the sources named on the generations page draw them.
Leap years
2020 and 2024The years with a 29 February.

The world they were born into

The 2020s so far have been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization in March 2020, which closed schools and borders around the world, and by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Generative AI tools reached the general public from late 2022.

Growing up

South Africa went into a national lockdown on 27 March 2020. The Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 2023, as they had in 2019. This page covers the years of the decade so far, and grows as the decade goes on.

Which generation

Births from 2020 to 2024 belong to Generation Alpha, and from 2025 to 2026 to Generation Beta. The boundaries are conventions rather than facts, and the generations page names the source for each one.

19001920194019601980200020202040The Greatest Generation1901–1927The Silent Generation1928–1945Baby Boomers1946–1964Generation X1965–1980Millennials1981–1996Generation Z1997–2012Generation Alpha2010–2024Generation Beta2025–203920201900194019802020The Greatest Generation, 1901–1927The Silent Generation, 1928–1945Baby Boomers, 1946–1964Generation X, 1965–1980Millennials, 1981–1996Generation Z, 1997–2012Generation Alpha, 2010–2024Generation Beta, 2025–20392020

Boundary set by researchers or the birth record Named by a writer or a consultancy, or claimed by two sources; the dates are not settled

Only the baby boom has an official definition, taken from the birth rate. Everything after Generation Z, and everything before the Silent Generation, is a label somebody proposed. McCrindle starts Generation Alpha in 2010, before Pew ends Generation Z in 2012, so those three years belong to both. As at 2026.

The marked line is 2020, where the decade begins.

Year by year

The Chinese year begins not on 1 January but at a new moon, usually the second after the December solstice, and from 1900 to 2100 always between 21 January and 20 February. In the 2020s it began as early as 22 January, in 2023, and as late as 17 February, in 2026, so a birthday in January or early February belongs to the animal of the year before. The table gives the day each year began.

YearChinese yearBeganGenerationAge in 2026
2020Leap yearMetal Rat25 JanuaryGeneration Alpha6
2021Metal Ox12 FebruaryGeneration Alpha5
2022Water Tiger1 FebruaryGeneration Alpha4
2023Water Rabbit22 JanuaryGeneration Alpha3
2024Leap yearWood Dragon10 FebruaryGeneration Alpha2
2025Wood Snake29 JanuaryGeneration Beta1
2026Fire Horse17 FebruaryGeneration Beta—

New year dates are worked out from the new moons and the solar terms, and checked against published tables. Born before the new year →

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