Mapped: Where are the World’s Ongoing Conflicts Today?

Where are the World’s Ongoing Conflicts Today?

We live in an era of relative peace compared to most of history, however, this does not mean that there are no conflicts in the world today.

This map using data from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reveals where the world’s 27 ongoing conflicts are today, and what type of conflicts they are.

Note: conflicts are categorized by definitions laid out by the CFR.

Detailing the Conflicts

Many people alive today have never lived through a war on their country’s soil, especially those in the West. But conflict, wars, and violence are by no means things of the past.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), as of Q2’2021 alone:

• Violence against civilians resulted in over 5,000 deaths worldwide
• Battle related deaths numbered over 18,000
• Explosion/remote violence led to more than 4,000 deaths
• Riots resulted in over 600 fatalities

Most of the world’s conflicts are concentrated in Asia and Africa and the most common forms are territorial disputes and civil wars. While terrorism often strikes fear in people, only three of the world’s ongoing conflicts are linked to terrorism, according to the CFR.

Conflict Name	Type	Countries Involved
Civil War in South Sudan	Civil War	🇸🇸 South Sudan
War in Yemen	Civil War	🇾🇪 Yemen
Civil War in Libya	Civil War	🇱🇾 Libya
War in Afghanistan	Civil War	🇦🇫 Afghanistan
Civil War in Syria	Civil War	🇸🇾 Syria
Instability in Iraq	Civil War	🇮🇶 Iraq
Criminal Violence in Mexico	Criminal	🇲🇽 Mexico
Confrontation of U.S. & Iran	Interstates	🇺🇸 United States 🇮🇷 Iran
Conflict of India & Pakistan	Interstates	🇮🇳 India 🇵🇰 Pakistan
North Korea Crisis	Interstates	🇺🇸 United States 🇰🇵 North Korea
Violence in the DRC	Political Instability	🇨🇩 DRC
Instability in Egypt	Political Instability	🇪🇬 Egypt
Political Instability in Lebanon	Political Instability	🇱🇧 Lebanon
Instability in Venezuela	Political Instability	🇻🇪 Venezuela
Tigray War in Ethiopia	Political Instability	🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Boko Haram in Nigeria	Sectarian	🇳🇬 Nigeria
Violence in Central African Republic	Sectarian	🇨🇫 Central African Republic
Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar	Sectarian	🇲🇲 Myanmar
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict	Territorial Disputes	🇦🇲 Armenia 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
Conflict in Ukraine	Territorial Disputes	🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇷🇺 Russia
Israeli-Palestine Conflict	Territorial Disputes	🇮🇱 Israel 🇵🇸 Palestine
Turkey & Armed Kurdish Groups	Territorial Disputes	🇹🇷 Turkey
South China Sea Disputes	Territorial Disputes	🇨🇳 China 🇻🇳 Vietnam 🇵🇭 Philippines
Tensions in East China Sea	Territorial Disputes	🇨🇳 China 🇯🇵 Japan
Destabilization in Mali	Terrorism	🇲🇱 Mali
Al-Shabab in Somalia	Terrorism	🇸🇴 Somalia
Islamist Militancy in Pakistan	Terrorism	🇵🇰 Pakistan

As an example of a more typical conflict, Myanmar’s civil unrest began in February 2020 when the military overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The civilian population has been protesting heavily but to no avail. According to a BBC report, more than 860 people have been killed and around 5,000 have been detained.

This is just one of the many examples of persistent violence today including recent events like Mexico’s midterm election violence, Ethiopia’s fighting in the country’s Tigray region, and the fighting between Israel and Palestine over the Sheikh Jarrah evictions.

Finally, though the United States military has now withdrawn from Afghanistan, and the Taliban has taken control of the country, the outlook for the country remains uncertain.

War and Peace

While there are conflicts today, deaths from violence and wars have and wars have decreased over time. For example, battle death rates in state-based conflicts have reduced significantly in a period from 1946 to 2016.

However, according to the UN, although battle related deaths have been decreasing, the number of conflicts occurring in the last few years has actually been on the rise (they have simply remained less deadly). Most conflicts have been waged by non-state actors, like organized criminal groups and political militias.

The UN found that the most common causes of conflict today are:

• Regional tensions
• Breakdowns in the rule of law
• Co-opted or absent state institutions
• Illicit economic gain
• Scarcity of resources exacerbated by climate change

Traditional war between countries and war-related deaths may be becoming a thing of the past, but the threat of violence is still very real. Many countries know this as they continue to build up armies and spend significant amounts on military and defense.

The Future of Warfare

War and conflict are still extremely relevant in the 21st century and impact millions of people. However, traditional warfare may be changing its shape and may become less deadly as a result.

For instance, issues like climate change will create further exacerbations on conflicts, and new forms of technological and cyber warfare could threaten countries’ elections and manipulate populations.