Austerity, mass job losses and a failing economy has led to many protests in Greece. This protester throws a petrol bomb against riot police guarding the parliament building in Athens' Syntagma (Constitution) Square.Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
Austerity, mass job losses and a failing economy has led to many protests in Greece. This protester throws a petrol bomb against riot police guarding the parliament building in Athens' Syntagma (Constitution) Square.Yannis Behrakis / ReutersThe Occupy movement started in New York but became an ongoing national story as it spread across the country.ReutersHundreds of thousands of Egyptians descended on Tahrir Square in Cairo, to demonstrate against the country's longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak was later ousted and now faces trial in for authorising the killing of protesters during the summer's Egyptian revolution.Amr Dalsh / ReutersArab Spring protests across Libya in early 2011, against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's brutal regime, spearheaded a revolution. Gaddafi's regime was overthrown and he was captured and murdered by rebels in October. In this picture anti-government tribal rebels prepare for possible attacks by pro-Gaddafi loyalists at a checkpoint in Ajdabiya.Asmaa Waguih / ReutersA demonstrator reacts as security forces use water canons to disperse protesters in downtown Tunis. Tunisian security forces used water cannon, teargas and fired shots in the air as demonstrators took to the streets demanding that the ruling party of the ousted president, Ben Ali, give up power.REUTERS / Zoubeir SouissiSyria has been hit by large-scale unrest and government forces have reacted brutallyReutersA boy sleeps in the arms of his father as they take part in a demonstration calling for lower living costs and social justice in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of thousands marched for lower living costs in the largest such rally in Israel's history, bolstering a social change movement and putting mounting pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take on economic reform. Protest leaders called it "the moment of truth" for the grassroots movement that has swollen from a cluster of student tent-squatters into a countrywide mobilisation of Israel's middle class.REUTERS / NIR ELIASAnti-government protests that have swept the Arab world made their way to Bahrain, forcing the cancellation of a Formula 1 race due to take place in the country. Protesters have had harsh and often brutal treatment at the hands of government forces, with one video emerging showing demonstrators fleeing machine-gun fire. In this picture an anti-government protester throws stones towards riot police during clashes at a roundabout where anti-government protesters staged a sit-in.Hamad I Mohammed / ReutersStudents descended on London in November for protests in the campaign against university tuition fees and education cutsSuzanne Plunkett / ReutersResidents of the village of Wukan in Lufeng county, Guangdong province, stand next to a poster showing local man Xue Jinbo, who died in police custody. A protest march was called off after a week-long stand-off. The villagers drove off officials and police, and held daily protests attracting thousands of angry residents. The sign reads, "Hero of Wukan's villagers, All in Mourning"David Gray / Reuters
From the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East to a small Chinese village mourning the death of a local resident, 2011 has seen a mass of protests across the world.
International Business Times UK looks at some of the memorable demonstrations during the year.
