A new study has found that the number of armed conflicts around the world reached its highest level since the end of World War II in 2025, underscoring growing geopolitical instability and rising tensions between nations.
Researchers at the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, based at Uppsala University, recorded 65 active conflicts during the year, the highest number documented in the program’s modern records.
The study also reported the highest number of conflict-related deaths since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, highlighting the increasing human cost of global violence.
According to the researchers, eight of the 65 conflicts involved direct confrontations between sovereign states, double the number recorded the previous year and the highest total since UCDP began tracking conflicts in 1946.
The interstate conflicts identified in the report included the wars involving Russia and Ukraine, Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, and Thailand and Cambodia. The study also cited Israel’s military engagements in Syria and Yemen, the border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and clashes involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Yemen’s Houthi movement in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region.
Researchers said the findings point to a significant shift in global security dynamics.
“We are seeing a clear increase in conflicts between states,” said Shawn Davies, a senior analyst with UCDP. “For a long time, interstate wars were relatively rare, but developments in recent years point to growing international tensions and a changing global security order.”
While interstate wars drew significant attention, the majority of the conflicts recorded in 2025 were internal struggles involving government forces and armed groups operating within national borders.
Analysts say the rise in both interstate and intrastate conflicts reflects a broader deterioration in global security, fueled by geopolitical rivalries, regional disputes, and ongoing political instability in several parts of the world.
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program is widely regarded as one of the leading international sources for tracking armed conflict, political violence and war-related fatalities worldwide.
