Overview
- The Peace Research Institute Oslo and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program published the 'Conflict Trends' report on June 9, 2026, showing 65 state-involved conflicts in 2025, the most recorded since 1946.
- Interstate wars doubled to eight in 2025, with active state-on-state clashes including Russia–Ukraine, India–Pakistan border incidents, Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes, and fights involving Israel and neighbouring states.
- UCDP estimates roughly 244,600–245,000 battle-related deaths in 2025, making it the third-deadliest post‑Cold War year, and notes methodological uncertainty in exact counts.
- One-sided killings of civilians jumped sharply to about 76,500 deaths, a rise driven largely by mass killings after the capture of El-Fasher in Darfur and heavy civilian harm in Gaza and Sudan.
- Researchers warn the concentration of deaths in a few high-casualty wars, the rise in multi-front state engagements, and early 2026 indicators suggest the elevated intensity of conflict may persist and will test humanitarian and diplomatic systems.