Today’s conflicts are more entrenched and severe than at any point in recent history, whether assessed by levels of violence or indicators of peace, the number of State-involved conflicts or civilian casualties. In 2023, there were 59 state-based armed conflicts, the highest ever recorded since 1946, when tracking began. In 2023, 220 out of 369 conflicts worldwide—about 60 per cent—were fought violently, up from 216 out of 363 the previous year. Sub-Saharan Africa continued to experience the highest number of conflicts classified as full-scale wars.
Civilians are bearing the brunt of these conflicts, which are characterized by blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, including mass atrocities. Over 58,700 civilians have already been killed in conflict in 2024, with civilian fatalities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) accounting for nearly 31 per cent of the global total, followed by Sudan and Myanmar, according to the ACLED database. Tragically, with conflicts continuing to escalate in places like OPT, Sudan, and Ukraine, 2024 could match or even surpass the devastating death toll in 2023, when over 63,000 civilians were killed in wars. Humanitarians, however, remain on the ground in the most challenging conflicts. Four out of every five civilian fatalities in conflicts worldwide in 2024 have occurred in countries with a humanitarian plan or appeal.
Number of civilians killed in conflict
The rising use of explosive weapons in populated areas has had catastrophic consequences for civilians, especially children. On average, civilians make up 90 percent of those harmed by attacks involving explosive weapons in populated areas. In 2023, nearly 30,000 civilians were killed or injured by explosive weapons in just six conflicts: Myanmar, OPT, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. Children are uniquely impacted by explosive weapons, and can be at least seven times more likely to die from blast injuries than adults. Between 2018 and 2022, explosive weapons were responsible for nearly half of the more than 47,500 instances of children killed and maimed in more than 24 conflict zones globally, as verified by the United Nations. During the same period, explosive weapons killed or seriously injured almost twice as many children as were killed or injured by gunshots and other firearms.
Explosive weapons also drastically increase damage to civilian infrastructure during war, as seen during Israel’s offensive in Gaza, OPT. More than half of Gaza’s homes, 80 per cent of commercial facilities, 87 per cent of school buildings and 68 per cent of cropland have been damaged or destroyed, while health facilities have been systematically attacked. There are worrying indications that these trends are being repeated in Lebanon, where 99,000 housing units and 36 water facilities have been destroyed or damaged, impacting the homes of hundreds of thousands of people and water supply for nearly 402,000 people. The UN Secretary-General continues to urge parties to conflict and States to avoid using explosive weapons in populated areas, relocate conflicts away from urban centers, and refrain from placing military objectives within or near densely populated areas. He also calls for the signing and implementation of the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.
Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory
Unexploded ordnance can be found on many streets and intersections across Gaza, often close to schools and other public spaces, posing severe risks to residents.
OCHA/Themba LindenGrave violations against children have reached unprecedented levels. Around one in every five children in the world—approximately 400 million—are living in or fleeing from conflict zones. In 2023, the United Nations verified 32,990 grave violations, affecting over 22,000 children, a 21 per cent increase from 2022. Sudan alone witnessed a 480 per cent rise in grave violations. Children are being killed and maimed in devastating numbers, with more than 5,300 children killed and over 6,300 maimed due to conflict and violence in 2023. Following the horrific attack in Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed almost 1,200 people and saw over 250 people taken hostage, more women and children have been killed by the Israeli military offensive in Gaza over the past year than the equivalent period of any other conflict over the past two decades, while in Ukraine an average of at least 16 children have been killed or injured every week since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Gaza, OPT now has the largest cohort of child amputees in recent history, with more than 10 children losing one or both of their legs each day in the first months of the conflict. Other violations against children included recruitment and use in conflict, sexual violence or abductions. Gender norms influenced the violations committed against children: boys—who constituted 70 per cent of children impacted by grave violations—faced higher risks of recruitment, killing and maiming, while girls were more frequently subjected to sexual violence. Overall, conflict-related sexual violence against children increased by 25 per cent compared to 2022.
Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rachel and her children, including her daughter Sophie—who was brutally attacked and lost both arms—in Tshopo province, a region plagued by ongoing communal violence.
OCHA/Wassy KambaleConflict-related sexual violence overall has risen dramatically. In 2023, the UN recorded 3,688 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence, which was 50 per cent higher than the year before. Women and girls accounted for 95 per cent of the verified cases, while 32 per cent of the victims were children. In 2024, conflict-related sexual violence escalated in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with health professionals reporting cases involving survivors as young as three years old. In Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces and its allied militias committed widespread sexual violence, including gang rapes and the abduction and detention of victims in conditions that amount to sexual slavery. In Haiti, there has been a ten-fold surge in sexual violence against children, as armed gangs continue to terrorize communities amid a growing humanitarian disaster.
Forced displacement due to conflict and violence has skyrocketed, with 20.5 million internal displacements (or movements) recorded across 45 countries and territories in 2023, of which two-thirds were reported in DRC, OPT and Sudan. Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 11 million people internally displaced and over 3.1 million having fled across borders to seek refuge from the war. These refugees are in neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan—countries that already host significant numbers of refugees and/or internally displaced persons (IDPs). Almost 1 out of every 3 people in Sudan—30 per cent of the country’s population—has been forced to flee their home, and over half of IDPs are children. In DRC, meanwhile, the first six months of 2024 saw over 2.7 million internal displacements due to conflict and violence, the highest figure recorded over a six-month period since monitoring began in 2009. The March 23 non-State armed group caused some 73 per cent of the displacements. Separately, the situation in Lebanon has caused the displacement of 100,000 Syrian refugees internally and created adverse circumstances that caused the return of approximately 570,000 Syrian, Lebanese and third-country nationals to Syria, often in undignified and challenging conditions.
Conflict continues to drive waves of forced displacement
Conflict continues to fuel forced displacement worldwide. By mid-2024, UNHCR estimated that nearly 123 million people had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations—a 5 per cent increase (5.3 million people) compared to 2023. By June 2024, one in 67 people worldwide was forcibly displaced, nearly double the rate of one in 114 people a decade ago.
The number of refugees reached 43.7 million by mid-2024, reflecting a one per cent rise compared to 2023, primarily driven by ongoing conflicts in Sudan and Ukraine. Internal displacement due to conflict and disaster continued to surge, with an estimated 72.1 million people internally displaced by mid-2024, continuing an upward trend since 2016. Conflict and violence remain the leading causes, with new internal displacements in six countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mozambique, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine—accounting for 90 per cent of people forced to flee within their own country in 2024.
Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 11 million people internally displaced and over 3.1 million having fled across borders since the war began in April 2023. The armed violence and attacks in Aj Jazirah State underscore the brutality of 19 months of conflict in Sudan, with reports of rape, mass killings and widespread looting. In less than one month—between 20 October and mid-November—hostilities in Aj Jazirah drove more than 340,000 people from their homes, the vast majority of whom fled to neighbouring Gedaref and Kassala states.
As in recent years, durable solutions in 2023 remained elusive for most refugees, IDPs and stateless people in need. While over one million refugees and 5.1 million IDPs returned to their countries or places of origin in 2023, these figures represented decreases of 22 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, compared to 2022. Protection concerns, inadequate basic services and poor economic opportunities in return areas hinder people’s ability to safely restore their livelihoods, leaving few paths to recovery. In Syria, for example, the number of IDPs peaked at 7.6 million in 2014 but remained at 7.2 million in 2023.
Conflict remains the primary driver of food insecurity, including catastrophic levels of acute hunger and malnutrition (IPC/CH Phase 5). At this stage, people experience an extreme lack of food and have exhausted all coping mechanisms, resulting in a significantly heightened risk of acute malnutrition and death. In 2023, 282 million people in 59 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity–a rise of 24 million (or nine per cent) since 2022. The number of people facing, or projected to face, catastrophic levels of acute hunger (IPC/CH Phase 5) more than doubled, rising from 705,000 across five countries/territories in 2023 to 1.9 million across four countries/territories by mid-2024. This surge is largely driven by conflicts in OPT and Sudan. In Sudan, about 755,300 people were projected to face catastrophic levels of acute hunger (IPC Phase 5) during the peak of the lean season (June to September 2024). Famine (IPC Phase 5), reported in July 2024 in Zamzam IDP camp is highly likely to persist beyond October 2024 while other areas are at risk of famine as long as conflict and limited humanitarian access prevail. In November 2024, the Famine Review Committee alerted that there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in northern Gaza, OPT with 355,900 people projected to face catastrophic levels of acute hunger (IPC/CH Phase 5) in Gaza. Conflict and insecurity are driving catastrophic hunger in South Sudan, with 31,000 people currently in IPC/CH Phase 5 (December 2024 to March 2025 estimates), among returnees from neighbouring Sudan. The situation is expected to deteriorate further as the lean season approaches and more people arrive from Sudan. In Haiti, over 5,600 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger and more pockets of these conditions are likely among people displaced by expanding violence and armed groups. In Mali’s Menaka region, nearly 2,600 people are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 5) due to conflict and severe access constraints.
Today, more than 78 million children and young people in war-torn and crisis-stricken areas are out of school. In countries such as Syria, a generation of children has grown-up knowing only war, shattering their education and future opportunities.
Solino, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Malnutrition specialists from OCCED'H, a local partner of UNICEF, screen women and children in one of Port-au-Prince’s most violent neighbourhoods. With street battles raging, access to baby food and pre- and post-natal health care is scarce and dangerous.
Giles ClarkePeople affected by humanitarian emergencies often face severe psychological stress. Loss, trauma and prolonged stress can overwhelm people's coping capacity. The breakdown of community structures, such as extended family systems and informal networks, excacerbate social and psychological challenges. Conflicts, in particular, have significant mental health impacts. Over one in five people in post-conflict settings experience mental health issues. A January 2024 study found high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety among Ukrainians, including refugees, following the first year of the Russian invasion. Similarly, the intense conflict in Gaza, OPT has worsened mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) needs. Many people affected by violence in Haiti are experiencing trauma from displacement and fear of epidemics like cholera, worsened by their current living conditions. In Sudan, children grapple with sadness, fear, and hopelessness as the ongoing war exposes them to harrowing violence and devastation. This prolonged exposure to conflict inflicts severe emotional stress, leading to long-term mental health and psychosocial challenges. The IASC Minimum Service Package for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support outlines a set of priority activities and provides a framework to deliver essential support to emergency-affected populations, with emphasis on community-based MHPSS approaches to put individuals, communities and social systems at the centre of the response.
Meanwhile, conflict and violence continue to destabilize the global economy, disrupting lives and destroying livelihoods. In 2023, the global economic cost of violence reached $19.1 trillion–equivalent to 13.5 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Afghanistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Ukraine incurred the highest proportional economic impacts in 2023, with costs equivalent to 42, 53 and 67 per cent their respective GDPs.
In the absence of concerted efforts to end wars, global military spending reached a record $2.4 trillion in 2023. This marked the ninth consecutive year of growth in military expenditure, and the highest year-on-year increase since 2009. The 10 largest spenders in 2023—led by the United States, China and Russia—all increased their military spending. Some smaller states instituted proportionally enormous increases, with the DRC increasing military spending by 105 per cent, and South Sudan by 78 per cent. With these increases, the world military expenditure is now 50 times the amount of the global humanitarian appeal.
Lack of respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) continues to be the single most important challenge for protecting people in armed conflicts, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In addition to its direct impact on civilians’ protection, the repeated violations of IHL can severely damage the perception of humanitarians’ independence and neutrality, endanger community acceptance and put aid workers at risk. The UN Secretary-General has demanded that governments put pressure on all parties to conflict to protect civilians, halt arms transfers to armies and groups that violate international law and end impunity so that perpetrators face justice.
Women’s strength amid conflict
Humanitarian narratives that surround women in conflict are often reductive, casting them as either invisible or solely as victims. In reality, women take active, leading roles to support and uplift their communities during wars.
A recent CARE report, Women in War, surveyed over 13,000 women affected by conflict, finding that 91 per cent of them were actively working to protect and strengthen their communities in places like Colombia, OPT, Syria and Yemen. Women were advocates for change, provided refuge for those displaced, and took on primary income-generating roles, with 46 per cent diversifying their incomes to support their families.
Women also built powerful support networks: 71 per cent provided health services, 79 per cent worked to make their communities safer and 60 per cent improved education opportunities. These roles highlight the invaluable contributions of women, whose leadership in times of crisis is essential.
References
- Different research outfits use different means to explore the nature, scale, scope and intensity of conflict. For conflict fought violently, see Conflictbarometer 2023; for State-involved conflict, Peace Research Institute Oslo and Uppsala Conflict Data Program; for indicators of peace (i.e., ‘peacefulness’), see the Global Peace Index 2024 and for civilian fatalities, see ACLED data.
- Political conflict is classified according to its intensity into low, medium or high. Low intensity political conflict is non-violent; it includes political disputes and non-violent crises. Medium and high intensity political conflict includes the use of violence. For full definitions on methodology, please see Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, Conflict Barometer 2023.
- Internal analysis based on ACLED data. Data downloaded 15 November 2024. Based on ACLED definitions, to calculate the number of civilian fatalities in conflict, two dimensions were summed: “violence against civilians” plus “explosions/remote violence”, the latter with the filter “civil targeting” enabled. The countries included in the calculation were all countries with a HNRP or equivalent plus Lebanon and OPT, both of which have flash appeals.
- The increase in the number of acutely food insecure people is due, partly, to extended analytical coverage. The total population analysed has increased each year since 2020.