Global Conflict Levels Reach Highest Since 1946
An Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel, on June 8.
Last year, 59 conflicts were recorded worldwide, with nearly half (28) in Africa, according to the report by the Oslo Peace Research Institute (Prio).
The planet experienced the highest number of armed conflicts since 1946 in 2023, even though the number of states in conflict is decreasing, according to a Norwegian study published on Monday. Last year, 59 conflicts were recorded worldwide, with nearly half (28) in Africa, according to the report by the Oslo Peace Research Institute (Prio). However, the number of countries in conflict has decreased, from 39 in 2022 to 34. The number of combat deaths has also halved (around 122,000), according to data collected by Uppsala University in Sweden from international organizations and NGOs. Fueled by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, this figure remains the third highest since 1989.
Islamic State Jihadist Group
“Violence in the world has never been higher since the end of the Cold War,” notes Siri Aas Rustad, a researcher at Prio and the main editor of the report that tracks trends from 1946 to 2023. “The numbers suggest that the conflict landscape has become increasingly complex, with a greater number of active belligerents within a single country,” she points out.
According to Prio, the increase in the number of conflicts is partly due to the Islamic State jihadist group, which has spread across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and the involvement of an increasing number of non-state actors, such as the jihadists of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM). “This development makes it increasingly difficult for actors such as humanitarian groups and civil society organizations to maneuver (…) and improve people’s lives,” Ms. Rustad argues.
While the number of combat deaths decreased last year, the combined number over the past three years is the highest in the last three decades. After Africa, the regions most affected by armed conflicts were Asia (17), the Middle East (10), Europe (3), and the Americas (1).