fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Number of conflicts between states reaches highest level since World War II

Phys · 🇺🇦 public Ukraine · · 575 words · By Uppsala University
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Number of conflicts between states reaches highest level since World War II

The article reports data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) regarding a sharp increase in interstate conflicts and fatalities in 2025. It highlights the Russia-Ukraine war as the deadliest conflict and notes a significant rise in one-sided violence against civilians, particularly in Sudan.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 17
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left14%
Center86%
Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Number of conflicts between states reaches highest level since World War II Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor The number of conflicts between states continued to increase sharply in 2025 and has now reached the highest level since World…

Why it matters

At the same time, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University registered a record total number of armed conflicts.

Common ground

In 2025, the number of interstate conflicts doubled for the second year in a row, from two in 2023 to eight in 2025.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The article reports data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) regarding a sharp increase in interstate conflicts and fatalities in 2025. It highlights the Russia-Ukraine war as the deadliest conflict and notes a significant rise in one-sided violence against civilians, particularly in Sudan.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-conflicts-states-highest-world-war.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7
check_circle Corroborated 6
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
schedule
Claim 1: “Extensive massacres of civilians are reported to have taken place following the conquest of the city of El Fasher in Darfur by the paramilitary Sudan Founding Alliance (SFA).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 2: “Thirteen of these conflicts were classified as wars, which means they caused at least 1,000 battle-related deaths in a calendar year.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions 13 conflicts classified as wars in 2025, but other results focus on the total number of conflicts or death tolls without specifically corroborating the '13 wars' count.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Despite the increased number of conflicts involving states, the number of non-state conflicts continued to decrease. Conflicts between non-state groups, such as drug cartels in Mexico, caused a total …
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-conflicts-states-highest-world…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The report cited the number of battle-related deaths from such conflicts: approximately 14,500 in 2025. This is a decrease since 2020. But, it said: “[T]he number of non-state conflict battle-related …
https://countercurrents.org/2026/06/world-armed-conflict-rea…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Смотрите онлайн «ВСЕПРОЩАЮЩЕЕ СЕРДЦЕ (2025)» от автора ULTRADOX - НОВИНКИ КИНО И СЕРИАЛОВ. Хорошее качество видео без регистрации в бесплатном видеокаталоге ВКонтакте. Опубликовано 29 декабря 2025. 10…
https://vk.com/video-192544707_456269534
cancel
Claim 3: “The conflicts include the wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Iran and Israel, as well as the conflicts between India and Pakistan and between Israel and Syria.”
DISPUTED
While some sources mention the Russo-Ukrainian war and India-Pakistan clashes, other search results mention different conflicts (e.g., Afghanistan-Pakistan, Cambodia-Thailand) or describe the Iran-Israel situation as a 'war on Iran' involving the US, creating a discrepancy in the specific list of the eight interstate conflicts.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — During the Russo-Ukrainian war, aerial warfare took place as early as the dawn of 24 February 2022, with Russian infantry and armored divisions entering into Eastern Ukraine with air support. Dozens o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_warfare_in_the_Russo-Uk…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The IPS/UPS (Russian: ЕЭС/ОЭС), also widely known as the Russian grid, is a wide area synchronous transmission grid, the Russian Unified Power System (UPS; Единая энергетическая система России [ЕЭС], …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPS/UPS
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 4: “Conflicts between non-state groups, such as drug cartels in Mexico, caused a total of around 14,500 deaths in 2025, the lowest figure since 2013.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “UCDP registered a total of around 76,500 deaths from one-sided violence in 2025, an increase of more than 400% compared with the previous year.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “This is the highest level since 1994.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “UCDP registered 65 conflicts in which states were involved on one or both sides during 2025, which is also the highest number since statistics began to be recorded in 1946.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm UCDP registered 65 state-involved conflicts in 2025, noting this as the highest number since 1946.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — (UCDP) recorded 59 state-involved conflicts, which constitutes the highest number since the Program's data collection began in 1946.164. People who are held ...
https://cdn.penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PRI_G…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — France has always ensured that the actions of its armed forces, which have been consistently engaged in foreign operations since the end of the Cold War, are ...
https://www.onlinelibrary.iihl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/0…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — However, in reality, most states involved in violent conflicts struggle with these ... as responses from the state, involvement of other sectors including ...
https://asean-aipr.org/media/library/ef41d488755367316f04fc0…
schedule
Claim 8: “UCDP registered at least 94,700 fatalities, accounting for about 62% of all battle-related deaths worldwide.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 9: “A detailed analysis of the data for 2025 is published in the Journal of Peace Research.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions 'Organized violence 1989–2025' in a context suggesting a publication, but there is not enough independent corroboration to confirm the specific journal publication for the 2025 data analysis.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... The number of conflicts documented by UCDP increased in 2025 to 65, the highest number since data collection started in 1946, and up ...
https://academic.oup.com/jpr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jop…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2025 ... “This is not just a spike – it's a structural shift. The world today is far more violent, and far more fragmented, than it was a decade ago,” ...
https://www.prio.org/news/3616
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 11, 2025 ... This article examines global trends in organized violence based on new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP).
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00223433251345636
help
Claim 10: “This is the highest number since 1992.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny if 13 wars is the highest number since 1992.
check_circle
Claim 11: “the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University registered a record total number of armed conflicts.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University registered a record total number of armed conflicts in 2025.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of ongoing armed conflicts that are taking place around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflict…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peter Wallensteen (born 29 July 1945, Stockholm) is a peace and conflict researcher in Sweden, now Senior Professor in Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. He was the first holder of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wallensteen
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection program on organized violence, based at Uppsala University in Sweden. The UCDP is a leading provider of data on organized violence and arm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala_Conflict_Data_Program
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 12: “This is the highest figure since UCDP began collecting data in 1946.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the figure of eight interstate conflicts in 2025 is the highest since UCDP began collecting data in 1946.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Brazilian drug war is an ongoing conflict fought mainly between police militias, drug cartels and federal (or state) security forces in Brazil.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_drug_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 2020, Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been the site of an ongoing conflict. The government of Haiti and Haitian security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_conflict
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of ongoing armed conflicts that are taking place around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflict…
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 13: “In all, around 244,600 people were killed in organized violence in 2025, making it the second-bloodiest year since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that approximately 244,600 people were killed in conflict in 2025, the highest since the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
schedule
Claim 14: “The war between Russia and Ukraine continued to be the world's deadliest conflict in 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 15: “The war between Israel and Hamas and the war in Sudan were also among the deadliest conflicts in the world during the year.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 16: “The number of conflicts between states continued to increase sharply in 2025 and has now reached the highest level since World War II.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results explicitly state that interstate conflicts reached their highest level since World War II in 2025.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a timeline of declarations of war during World War II. A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is usually the act of delivering a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarations_of_war_during_Wor…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The ratlines (German: Rattenlinien) were systems of escape routes used by Nazis and their collaborators to flee Europe from 1945 onwards in the aftermath of World War II. Two primary routes developed …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — World War II, or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945), was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 17: “In 2025, the number of interstate conflicts doubled for the second year in a row, from two in 2023 to eight in 2025.”
CORROBORATED
Three separate web search results (EurekAlert!, Uppsala University, and another news source) provide the exact same figures: interstate conflicts doubled for the second year in a row, from two in 2023 to eight in 2025.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2023 (MMXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2023rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Creator is a 2023 American science fiction action film produced and directed by Gareth Edwards, who co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz. It stars John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watana…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creator_(2023_film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.