2025 Report: World’s Deadliest Year With Peak Conflicts Since Cold War End

2025 saw highest number of state conflicts since WWII

A Norwegian study released Tuesday revealed that 65 state-led conflicts were recorded globally in 2025, marking a new high since 1946.

The surge in conflicts included border skirmishes between India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Israeli military operations against Syria.

245,000 deaths directly linked to fighting or political violence

Last year was the third deadliest since Cold War ended, with around 245,000 deaths directly related to conflict or political violence – nearly 76,500 of them due to attacks on civilians.

Sudan’s Darfur region saw some 60,000 people killed in siege and massacres

The increase in civilian casualties is largely attributed to the conflict between army and paramilitaries in Sudan, where around 60,000 deaths were caused by attacks directly targeting civilians.

Rwanda genocide and Ethiopia’s Tigray war saw most fatalities in 1994 and 2021 respectively

Africa remains region most affected by state-led conflicts

According to Uppsala Conflict Data Program figures used by Peace Research Institute Oslo, Africa is the region most impacted by state-led conflicts, followed by Asia, Middle East, Americas, and Europe.