Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. 2019 - A Year of Protest Jamie Dettmer WASHINGTON - It has been a year of protest -- from Hong Kong to Bolivia, and from France to Lebanon. Few parts of the world were spared significant protests in 2019. In Russia's capital, Moscow, protesters were outraged by rigged elections. In Britain, people rallied against Brexit, Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Serbia, Ukraine, Albania and the central European states all experienced major demonstrations. Separatists battled police in the restive region of Catalonia. Dissent in the Middle East prompted talk of a new Arab Spring. In the Americas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela all experienced popular unrest. And the list goes on. "The data shows that the amount of protests is increasing and is as high as the roaring 1960s," according to Jacquelien van Stekelenburg, an academic who studies social change at Vrije University in Amsterdam. WATCH:Protesters Express Discontent Around the World .