UPPSALA — Researchers at the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University recorded 65 active conflicts globally in 2025. Conflict fatalities globally in 2025 were approximately 244,600, an increase from 187,000 fatalities in 2024.
Direct conflicts between individual states doubled from the previous year to eight in 2025. These eight interstate conflicts represent the highest number since the program began collecting data in 1946. The interstate conflicts included wars between Russia and Ukraine, Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, and Thailand and Cambodia.
Israel's engagements in Syria and Yemen were also among the interstate conflicts. Additionally, a border conflict occurred between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a conflict in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden involved the U.S. and U.K. against Yemen's Houthis. Thirteen of the 65 recorded conflicts were classified as wars, which the program defines as causing over 1,000 battlefield deaths in a year.
Shawn Davies, a senior analyst, said, "We are seeing a clear increase in conflicts between states. 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."
The Russia-Ukraine war was the deadliest interstate conflict in 2025, accounting for 62 percent of all battle-related deaths. The program estimates 77,700 Russian personnel and 14,000 Ukrainian personnel were killed during the conflict in 2025. Researchers reported that Russian battlefield losses increased while Ukrainian losses remained relatively stable.
The Israel-Hamas war was the second-deadliest state-based conflict in 2025, with 14,400 fatalities. Fatalities in this conflict decreased from the previous year following ceasefire agreements. Sudan was the third-deadliest state-based conflict in 2025, recording 12,200 deaths due to fighting between government forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians were killed by the Rapid Support Forces in massacres after the group captured the city of El Fasher.
Therése Pettersson, a senior analyst and project manager, said in an interview, "The discussion in the article concerns a broader debate in international relations about whether we are witnessing changes in the post-Cold War international order." She added, "Our data does not allow us to establish a direct causal link between specific U.S. policy changes and the increase in conflicts recorded in 2025."
Researchers warned that data trends indicate 2026 is unlikely to be more peaceful than 2025. The program categorizes violence data into state-based violence, non-state violence, and one-sided violence. State-based violence includes internal civil wars and interstate wars where one or both parties is a government. Non-state violence encompasses clashes between two groups, neither of which is a state. One-sided violence categorizes attacks that target civilians.