State-based conflicts rose sharply in 2025, with 65 active cases recorded and interstate wars doubling to eight — the highest since 1946. Conflict deaths jumped to 244,600 from 187,000 the previous year, largely driven by violence in Sudan. The Global Peace Index reported a twelfth consecutive year of declining peacefulness and estimated the economic cost of violence at over $20 trillion (about 10.5% of global GDP).
Direct State Conflicts Reach Highest Level Since World War II
The number of direct, state-based conflicts surged to levels not seen since World War II, according to newly released data.
Key Findings
Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 65 active state-based conflicts in 2025. Notably, the number of interstate wars doubled to eight — the highest figure recorded since the dataset began in 1946.
The data also shows a sharp increase in conflict-related fatalities: deaths rose from 187,000 in 2024 to 244,600 in 2025. This rise was driven largely by intense violence in Sudan.
Wider Context
Debate continues among scholars about long-term trends in human violence. In 2013, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argued that humanity has become less violent over time and that wars are rarer; however, many anthropologists and conflict researchers have challenged aspects of that conclusion, pointing to regional spikes and evolving forms of violence.
The Global Peace Index reported that global peacefulness declined for the twelfth consecutive year. The index estimated the economic cost of violence at more than $20 trillion in 2025 — roughly 10.5% of global GDP.
These figures highlight both a rising toll from specific, high-intensity conflicts and a longer-term deterioration in global peace indicators.
What this means: Policymakers and international organizations face renewed pressure to address the drivers of interstate and intrastate violence, invest in conflict prevention, and respond to humanitarian crises in hotspots such as Sudan.
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