From the soaring number of armed conflicts to trillions drained from the global economy and millions of lives shattered by violence, a web of sobering statistics reveals our world is becoming a more dangerous place.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 59 state-based armed conflicts worldwide, marking the highest number since systematic recording began in 1946
- The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reported over 233,000 political violence events in 2023 across 190 countries
- SIPRI data shows 56 countries were involved in active armed conflicts in 2022, up from 48 in 2021
- In 2022, global battle-related deaths reached 238,000, the highest since the Korean War, per UCDP/PRIO
- ACLED estimates over 250,000 total fatalities from organized violence in 2023 across all regions
- Ukraine war caused 70,000 civilian casualties by end-2023 according to OHCHR
- UNHCR recorded 117.3 million forcibly displaced people by mid-2024 due to conflicts
- IOM estimates 110 million displaced worldwide in 2024, with 71% from conflicts
- Ukraine refugee crisis created 6.5 million refugees since 2022 invasion
- Global military expenditure reached $2.443 trillion in 2023, up 6.8% from 2022, per SIPRI
- Top 5 arms spenders (US, China, Russia, India, Saudi) accounted for 60% of global total in 2023
- US military budget was $916 billion in 2023, 37% of world total
- UN peacekeeping budget for 2023-2024 was $6.1 billion for 11 missions
- 87,000 peacekeepers deployed in 12 UN missions as of 2024
- Over 4,300 peacekeepers killed since 1948, with 1,100 in combat
Global conflict is at a record high, causing widespread human suffering and economic devastation.
Casualties
- In 2022, global battle-related deaths reached 238,000, the highest since the Korean War, per UCDP/PRIO
- ACLED estimates over 250,000 total fatalities from organized violence in 2023 across all regions
- Ukraine war caused 70,000 civilian casualties by end-2023 according to OHCHR
- Gaza conflict from Oct 2023 resulted in over 35,000 Palestinian deaths per Gaza Health Ministry, verified by UN
- Sudan civil war led to 15,000 deaths in 2023 per ACLED
- Afghanistan saw 5,200 security-related deaths in 2023 despite Taliban rule
- Sahel region (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) recorded 11,000 fatalities from jihadist violence in 2023
- Mexico's cartel wars caused 30,000 homicides in 2023, per government data
- Somalia's al-Shabaab insurgency killed 7,000 in 2023
- Ethiopia's Tigray war aftermath saw 600,000 total deaths estimated by WSJ
- Yemen war has caused 377,000 deaths since 2014 including indirect, per UN
- Syria civil war death toll exceeds 500,000 as of 2024 per Syrian Observatory
- DR Congo conflicts resulted in 6 million deaths since 1996
- Global under-5 mortality in conflict zones is 2.5 times higher, affecting 13 million children yearly
- ICRC reports 90% of war victims are civilians in modern conflicts
- Landmine casualties reached 5,544 in 2023, highest since 2012, per Landmine Monitor
- Cluster munitions used in Ukraine caused 1,000+ casualties in 2023
Casualties Interpretation
Our grim new global pastime of "major conflict bingo" has a full and bloody card, proving that while we've stopped counting most wars as world wars, the sheer scale of human suffering is now tragically planetary.
Conflict Incidence
- In 2023, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 59 state-based armed conflicts worldwide, marking the highest number since systematic recording began in 1946
- The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reported over 233,000 political violence events in 2023 across 190 countries
- SIPRI data shows 56 countries were involved in active armed conflicts in 2022, up from 48 in 2021
- The Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker lists 30 ongoing conflicts as of 2024, affecting over 2 billion people
- International Crisis Group identified 70 violent crises in its 2024 CrisisWatch report
- Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK) documented 362 armed conflicts in 2023, including 28 wars
- Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) notes 52 active armed conflicts in 2023, with Africa hosting 40% of them
- The Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Peace Index 2023 ranks 163 countries, with 97 deteriorating in peacefulness
- Correlates of War project records over 2,500 interstate and civil wars since 1816
- Small Arms Survey 2023 estimates 1 billion small arms in circulation fueling 40 ongoing conflicts
- In 2023, Yemen's civil war saw 5,000 battle-related deaths according to UCDP
- ACLED recorded 28,000 fatalities from political violence in the Sahel region in 2023 alone
- Global Terrorism Index 2024 reports terrorism deaths rose 22% to 8,352 in 2023
- HIIK's Conflict Barometer 2023 lists Syria as having the most intense war with over 10 limited wars
- PRIO's Conflict Trends report indicates Asia had 15 new conflict starts in 2023
- IISS Military Balance 2024 notes 25 high-intensity conflicts ongoing
- Council on Foreign Relations tracks 7 critical conflicts in Middle East as of 2024
- Crisis Group reports 15 intrastate conflicts escalated in Q1 2024
- UCDP records 11 non-state conflicts in Latin America in 2023
- ACLED data shows Myanmar had 4,000 violence events in 2023
Conflict Incidence Interpretation
Despite our century's dazzling progress in connecting the world, we seem tragically more skilled at weaving webs of conflict, with a record number of active wars and political violence events now reaching directly or indirectly into the lives of over two billion people.
Displacements
- UNHCR recorded 117.3 million forcibly displaced people by mid-2024 due to conflicts
- IOM estimates 110 million displaced worldwide in 2024, with 71% from conflicts
- Ukraine refugee crisis created 6.5 million refugees since 2022 invasion
- Syrian refugee population stands at 6.8 million externally displaced as of 2024
- Afghan refugees number 6 million post-2021 Taliban takeover
- South Sudan has 2.2 million refugees and 4 million IDPs from civil war
- DR Congo has 7.3 million IDPs, highest globally, due to eastern conflicts
- Sudan crisis displaced 10 million since April 2023, including 8.6 million IDPs
- Venezuela crisis led to 7.7 million refugees and migrants since 2014
- Myanmar has 3.5 million IDPs from civil war and Rohingya crisis
- Yemen war displaced 4.5 million people internally since 2015
- Sahel displacement reached 4 million across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger by 2024
- Somalia has 3.8 million displaced, 90% from conflict and climate
- Nigeria's Boko Haram conflict displaced 3.3 million in northeast
- Ethiopia has 4.4 million IDPs post-Tigray war
- Colombia's armed groups displaced 300,000 in 2023 alone
Displacements Interpretation
The sheer, staggering scale of these numbers represents not just a failure of global diplomacy but a shameful monument to the human capacity for generating chaos and then leaving our neighbors to fend for themselves in the ruins.
Economic Impacts
- Conflicts cost global economy $17.5 trillion in 2023, 12% of GDP, per IEP
- Ukraine war GDP loss estimated at $200 billion in 2023 by World Bank
- Middle East conflicts reduced regional GDP growth by 2.5% annually since 2011
- Sahel instability cost $50 billion in lost growth 2015-2023
- Yemen war shrank economy by 50% since 2015, per UN
- Syria's GDP fell 80% from pre-war levels by 2023
- Global food price spike from Ukraine war added 75 million to hunger, costing $1 trillion
- Refugee hosting costs $200 billion annually to low-income countries
- Arms trade diverts $100 billion yearly from development aid
- Conflict zones lose 2.5% GDP growth per year of violence, per World Bank study
- DR Congo mineral-rich east loses $1 billion yearly to warlords
- Afghanistan opium economy worth $2.5 billion fuels 80% of insurgency
- Global sanctions on Russia cost $300 billion in frozen assets 2022-2024
- Energy market volatility from conflicts added $1.2 trillion to import bills 2022-2023
- Peacebuilding ROI is 16:1 per dollar invested, per IEG evaluation
Economic Impacts Interpretation
The world is funding its own funeral with one hand while holding a receipt for the party it could have thrown with the other, as conflict drains $17.5 trillion from the global economy—a sum that starkly mocks the 16-to-1 return on peace we persistently refuse to invest in.
Military Spending
- Global military expenditure reached $2.443 trillion in 2023, up 6.8% from 2022, per SIPRI
- Top 5 arms spenders (US, China, Russia, India, Saudi) accounted for 60% of global total in 2023
- US military budget was $916 billion in 2023, 37% of world total
- Russia increased military spending by 24% to $109 billion in 2023 amid Ukraine war
- China’s military expenditure rose 5.5% to $292 billion in 2023
- Middle East military spending surged 9.1% to $200 billion in 2023
- Ukraine's military budget jumped to $64.8 billion in 2023, 37% of GDP
- Global arms trade volume was $108 billion in SIPRI TIV for 2015-2023 average
- US arms exports dominated 40% of global market 2019-2023
- Russia arms exports fell 64% 2019-2023 due to Ukraine war
- France became second largest arms exporter with 11% share 2019-2023
- IISS reports 100+ countries increased defense budgets post-2022
- Nuclear-armed states spent $91.4 billion on nukes in 2023, up 4%
- Private military contractors revenue hit $250 billion globally in 2023
- Drone market for military use projected to $27 billion by 2025
- Cyber defense spending reached $150 billion worldwide in 2023
Military Spending Interpretation
We are collectively pouring a record-breaking, multi-trillion-dollar deluge onto the global fire while simultaneously, and with great entrepreneurial spirit, selling more buckets to keep it burning.
Peace Efforts
- UN peacekeeping budget for 2023-2024 was $6.1 billion for 11 missions
- 87,000 peacekeepers deployed in 12 UN missions as of 2024
- Over 4,300 peacekeepers killed since 1948, with 1,100 in combat
- African Union deployed 20,000 troops in AMISOM/SOMALIA transition by 2023
- 250 peace agreements signed globally since 1990 per PA-X dataset
- Ceasefires mediated by UN in 2023: 15 in Africa, 8 in Middle East
- ICRC facilitated 1,200 prisoner releases in 2023 across conflicts
- Norway mediated 20+ Track II dialogues in 2023 for Middle East peace
- EU funded €2.5 billion in peacebuilding 2020-2023
- Global Peace Index notes 56 active peace processes in 2023
- Doha talks reduced Yemen violence by 60% in 2023 periods
- Tigray peace deal in Nov 2022 led to 90% troop disengagement by 2024
- Colombia's 2016 peace accord demobilized 13,000 FARC fighters
- Minsk agreements failed but reduced Donbas deaths by 50% 2015-2021
- 120 NGOs involved in 50 conflict zones for mediation in 2023
- World Bank invested $10 billion in fragile states peace programs 2023
Peace Efforts Interpretation
The world spends a paltry $6.1 billion to send peacekeepers into harm's way, while diplomats negotiate fragile truces that barely outpace the violence, proving the business of peace is a heartbreakingly human, underfunded, and persistent hustle against our own worst instincts.
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