Signal Fifty-nine active state-based conflicts, the most since 1945

Summary

This signal gives a headline count of how many wars involving states are under way. UNDP reports 59 active state-based conflicts, the largest number since the Second World War. It sits within a broader picture of conflict at record levels, including long-running crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, the Sahel and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of these conflicts are protracted and rooted in tensions left unresolved for years. Only 4% of conflicts in the 2010s ended with a peace agreement, suggesting that wars are accumulating faster than they are being settled. The result is growing pressure on fragile settings and on the humanitarian system.