The World at War. Last year saw a record number of conflicts since World War II
An annual review of armed conflicts by the Norwegian Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) concludes that in 2025, the number of state-level conflicts rose to its highest level since 1946. In terms of the total number of fatalities, last year was surpassed only by 1994, when the Rwandan genocide was in full swing, and 2021, at the peak of the civil war in Ethiopia. The war in Ukraine currently remains the deadliest conflict, writes the BBC.
Lebanese soldiers on a road in front of destroyed houses in a village in southeastern Lebanon, a day after Israeli forces withdrew following clashes with Hezbollah fighters. Photo: AP Photo/Hussein Malla
The report 'Conflict Trends' lists 65 armed conflicts in which at least one state is currently involved. Among them are eight interstate conflicts.
Besides the Russian invasion of Ukraine, researchers name border clashes between India and Pakistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Cambodia and Thailand, as well as Israeli airstrikes on Syria.
The current military conflict around Iran remained outside the scope of the 2025 trends study, although Israeli bombings of Lebanon are mentioned.
«Unfortunately, there's not much positive news,» stated Siri Aas Rustad, the compiler of the review, quoted by AFP. «Usually, I manage to extract something positive from the data, but this year the numbers are simply shocking.»
The report estimates the number of those whose death is directly related to military or political violence at 245,000. Deceased military personnel — such as Russian soldiers on the front line in Ukraine — account for a larger share in this statistic, but more than 25% of the total number of fatalities — 76.5 thousand — are civilian casualties. The growth in this category is fivefold compared to 2024.
Researchers explain the sharp jump in these grim statistics by clashes between the army and rebels in Sudan — the siege of El Fasher, killings, and deaths from exhaustion led to the deaths of about 60,000 people there last year.
«For the last five or six years, several major conflicts have been ongoing in parallel, or when one ends, another immediately begins. The world is not given any respite,» says Rustad. «In this respect, the situation differs from previous years — the intensity of conflicts worldwide is high and constant.»
In its reviews, the Norwegian institute identifies three main types of conflicts: those involving at least one state, non-state conflicts, and situations where violence against the civilian population is unilateral.
Regarding situations of the first type, Africa leads with 29 conflicts, followed by Asia and the Middle East. In Europe, there is only one such conflict, but of a scale the continent has not seen since World War II.
In total, the Norwegians counted 13 conflicts that can be defined as 'war' last year. After relatively calm 2000s and the five-year period of 2017-2022, the number of wars is also growing.
Rustad emphasizes that one of the most belligerent states is Israel, involved in five conflicts of various types: in the Gaza Strip, in Syria, Lebanon, against Iran, and the Houthis in Yemen. In Asia, such 'leadership' belongs to Myanmar (Burma). Syria, Pakistan, and India are simultaneously involved in four conflicts.
The report's compiler also mentioned the USA, stating that Donald Trump's return to the presidency brought «not only attacks and an increased level of violence but also the erection of trade barriers.»
«For now, cooperation can be forgotten. The UN Security Council is not currently functioning, and the world is becoming increasingly polarized,» she said.
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