Overview
- Uppsala Conflict Data Program figures published in June 2026 show 65 armed conflicts in 2025 that involved at least one state, the largest total since systematic records began in 1946.
- The number of interstate, state-on-state conflicts doubled to eight in 2025, a postwar high that UCDP links to rising international tension and shifting security dynamics.
- UCDP counts about 244,600 battle-related deaths in 2025, with the Russia–Ukraine war the deadliest single conflict at roughly 94,700 fatalities.
- Deaths from one-sided violence—attacks that directly target civilians—jumped to about 76,500 in 2025, a rise driven chiefly by reported massacres after the capture of El Fasher in Darfur, Sudan.
- At the same time non-state clashes and cartel violence fell to near-decade lows, but analysts warn that the growing number of multi-front, state-involved wars is straining humanitarian relief, peacekeeping capacity, and diplomatic tools and is likely to shape security risks into 2026.