19811982

19811982 is a designation used to refer to the two-year span comprising the calendar years 1981 and 1982. It is used in historical writing to label events that unfold across both years or to describe seasons that begin in one year and end in the next.

The period occurred during the late Cold War, with global economic challenges including a recession and inflation in many economies. In 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as United States president; the year also saw the first recognized cases of AIDS, the launch of the Space Shuttle program with STS-1, and the introduction of the IBM PC. Television and media culture were reshaped as MTV began broadcasting in August 1981. In 1982, the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina occurred, and Spain hosted the FIFA World Cup. Technologically, Sony and Philips announced the development of the compact disc, and the Commodore 64 was released for home computing.

Culturally and politically, the two-year span reflected shifts toward digital media, renewed geopolitical tensions, and transformations that would define the mid-1980s. The label 19811982 thus denotes a transitional phase in which several long-standing trends—television and mass media, personal computing, and regional conflicts—moved toward greater prominence in global affairs.