Overview
- The PRIO “Conflict Trends” report, published Tuesday, June 9, 2026, found 65 conflicts involving at least one state in 2025, the largest count since 1946.
- PRIO and UCDP data show about 245,000 battle-related deaths in 2025, making it the third-deadliest year since the Cold War.
- Nearly 76,500 of those deaths were from attacks that directly targeted civilians, a sharp jump from roughly 14,200 in 2024 largely driven by mass killings and sieges in El‑Fasher, Darfur.
- Interstate fighting doubled from 2024 to eight conflicts in 2025, including clashes involving Russia‑Ukraine, India‑Pakistan, Afghanistan‑Pakistan, and Israeli operations in Syria.
- Researchers say the past five to six years have brought overlapping, high‑intensity wars across some 35 countries, a trend that complicates aid delivery, regional stability, and UN diplomacy.