Global Conflict Trends
Conflicts are on the rise globally, at the highest level since World War II, data shows. A new study by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden recorded the highest number of conflicts between states in 2025 since World War II, and the highest number of fatalities recorded since the Rwandan genocide. There were 65 active conflicts in 2025, according to researchers at the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University, regarded as a leading source of information on violence worldwide. Out of that total, the number of direct conflicts between individual states doubled from the previous year to eight in 2025 — the highest number of such conflicts since UCDP began collecting data in 1946.
Key Conflicts and Regions
The interstate conflicts included the wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Iran and Israel, as well as conflicts between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, and Israel's conflicts in Syria and Yemen. The final two are: the border conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the conflict in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between the U.S. and U.K. against Yemen's Houthis. The rest of the 65 were all intrastate conflicts — government forces fighting rebel groups within the country.
Conflict Fatalities
Fatalities were the highest on record since 1994, with approximately 244,600 people killed in conflict in 2025, the data shows. That's up from 187,000 deaths in 2024. The Russia-Ukraine war was the deadliest interstate conflict, accounting for 62% of all battle-related deaths, with 77,700 from the Russian side killed in 2025 and 14,000 from the Ukrainian side. While the warring sides do not regularly release casualty figures, the Uppsala researchers use a variety of open sources, including social media to come up with the tallies. "Russian battlefield losses have increased and Ukraine," the source text notes, though the sentence is incomplete.
Types of Conflicts
The researchers break down the data into several categories. One is "state-based violence," which includes both internal, civil wars and "interstate wars," meaning wars between nations. Either way this grouping means one or both parties to a conflict are a government: for example Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza. Then there is "non-state violence," which encompasses clashes between two groups, neither of which is a state: for example sectarian fighting in Pakistan or cartel violence in Mexico. A third category is "one-sided violence," which targets civilians, for example last year's government crackdowns on protests in Tanzania or rebel group attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Of last year's 65 conflicts, 13 of them rose to the level of war — as defined by over 1,000 battlefield deaths a year.
Significance: What's at Stake
The rise in conflicts reflects growing international tensions and a changing global security order. "We are seeing a clear increase in conflicts between states. For a long time, interstate wars were relatively rare, but developments in recent years point to growing international tensions and a changing global security order," said Shawn Davies, a senior analyst at UCDP. "It is not only a story of more conflicts, but also of extremely high levels of lethal violence. Most notably, we see a dramatic increase in violence directed against civilians, particularly in Sudan," said Therése Pettersson, senior analyst and project manager at UCDP.
Public Impact
The increase in conflicts affects not only those in war zones but also the global community, disrupting trade, contributing to inflation, and causing food insecurity. Refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence have put pressure on host countries, particularly in Europe and neighboring regions. The data highlights the human cost: approximately 244,600 people killed in 2025, with a dramatic increase in violence against civilians, especially in Sudan.
Road Ahead
The data from UCDP reflects the need for diplomatic solutions and conflict prevention measures. International organizations and wealthy nations are called upon to strengthen peacekeeping missions, mediation initiatives, and humanitarian aid. The trend of rising interstate conflicts suggests that global security dynamics will continue to evolve, requiring sustained attention and cooperation to mitigate further escalation.
Source: NPR.
