The World Suffers the Highest Number of Wars Since 1946

Last year, the world experienced the highest number of wars since 1946, according to a Norwegian study that warns of an increase in attacks against civilians. The annual "Conflict Trends" report from the Oslo Peace Research Institute states that 65 wars involving at least one state were recorded worldwide last year.

Wars between states also reached a new 80-year high, doubling from the previous year to eight. These include border clashes between India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Cambodia and Thailand, as well as the war in Ukraine and Israel's military aggressions against Syria.

Last year was the third deadliest since the end of the Cold War, with approximately 245,000 deaths directly related to combat or political violence. Nearly 76,500 of those were attributed to attacks directly targeting civilians, compared to 14,200 in 2024.

The sharp rise in civilian deaths is due to the war between the army and paramilitary forces in Sudan, where the siege and massacres carried out in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region are estimated to have left about 60,000 dead.

Since the end of the Cold War, greater bloodshed has only occurred in 1994 and 2021, due to the Rwandan genocide and the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, respectively.

Israel is among the world's most aggressive countries

The study is based on figures compiled by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), affiliated with Uppsala University. It distinguishes between three main types of organized violence: conflicts involving at least one state, non-state conflicts, and one-sided violence against civilians.

Africa remained the region most affected by state-based conflicts, with 29, followed by Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Europe.

According to the study, Israel is among the world's most aggressive countries, noting its involvement in different types of wars in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and against Houthi rebels.

The report also singles out the United States, stating that Trump's return to the U.S. presidency has brought "not only increased attacks and violence, but also the trade barriers they are raising."

The UN Security Council is not functioning, the study concludes.