Conflict Trends by PRIO shows that 2025 will become the most conflict-stricken year after World War Two with 65 civil wars among states and eight wars between states, resulting in shocking numbers of deaths among civilians.
OSLO: The entire world ran out of air to breathe in 2025. As shown by the PRIO annual Conflict Trends report, world conflicts reached their peak in 2025, the highest number of world conflicts seen since the end of World War II 65 state-based conflicts occurring within one year, a level unprecedented since 1946. According to the analysis made on data collected by the Conflict Data Program of the Uppsala University, the global security landscape is deteriorating rapidly without any respite in sight.
Peaks in World Conflicts the numbers underpinning the record
The peaks in world conflicts 2025 record are by no means limited to the wars that get reported as news in the West. According to the PRIO report, there have been 65 recorded cases of conflicts across the globe involving at least one nation state a record since the end of the Second World War. The number of interstate conflicts or direct wars fought between two sovereign nations doubled compared to the previous year to reach eight cases, matching a figure not seen for 80 years.
Civilians’ casualties rise five times Sudan is behind the rise
However, one of the most worrying aspects in relation to conflicts worldwide in 2025 is the aspect pertaining to the civilians. From the estimates, the total figure of civilian death due to political violence was 76,500 in 2025, which is a total figure that surpasses the death figure of civilians in 2024, estimated at 14,200, by five times. Much of this figure is accounted for by the siege that occurred in the town of El-Fasher in the region of Darfur, in Sudan, where close to 60,000 civilians were killed in the conflict between the two armies of Sudan. Sudan has caused most of the civilians killed in 2025, becoming the third deadliest year after the Cold War era, right after Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Africa takes the lead; however, all regions are affected
There are 29 state-led conflicts within Africa’s borders, making this region host the largest number of conflicts according to the world conflicts 2025 peak dataset. Next is Asia, followed by the Middle East, Americas, and Europe. The distribution shows that there is no concentration of conflicts within one particular region but rather a systemic breakdown at a global level.
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Israel identified as one of the most aggressive states
According to Siri Aas Rustad, who is from PRIO research organization, Israel can be considered one of the most aggressive countries currently in the global context of conflicts, taking into account its involvement in conflicts with the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Houthis. The United States under President Donald Trump was also identified, due to heightened military actions and restrictions on trade that weaken conflict containment structures established by international cooperation.
A world that receives no respite
The analysis by Rustad regarding the structural change driving the world conflicts 2025 peak is of more significance compared to any particular data point. She talks about a new trend where high intensity conflicts keep following each other, with no intervals of peace in between, which used to be an interruption in the past during the process of spreading global conflict. Additionally, there is less effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council and a greater geopolitical polarization; this further increases the difficulty as the traditional means of control are not available anymore.
