There was a steep rise in political violence over the past year, with Ukraine and Palestine considered the two major global hotspots of conflict.
The world experienced a further surge in conflicts in 2024, according to data provided by the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), which maps conflicts across the world’s regions.
Political violence increased by 25% globally in 2024 compared to 2023, with one in eight people exposed to conflict and 223,000 people killed, according to the NGO’s estimates.
The data also suggests that there has been a two-fold increase in global conflicts over the past five years.
Another study by the International Institute for International Studies (IIIS) concludes that the intensity and human toll of armed conflicts are also on the rise, with 37% more people killed in the year leading up to June last year compared to the previous year-long period.
According to ACLED, “Palestine is the most conflict-ridden country in the world”, and “the Middle East is the most affected region”.
It bases its assessment on four indicators: the deadliness, danger, diffusion, and fragmentation of armed conflicts.
It estimates that 81% of Palestine’s population is exposed to conflict, with 35,000 fatalities recorded in the past 12 months. On average, 52 conflict incidents occur in Palestinian territories per day.
Since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in October 2023, the UN estimates that more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. ACLED puts the figure of fatalities in the Palestinian territories — including the West Bank and East Jerusalem — at over 50,000.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to be the deadliest in the world, while Myanmar, where internal conflict has been raging since the military staged a coup in 2021, has the highest number of armed groups.
Where else are conflicts deepening?
There are an estimated 50 countries worldwide experiencing active conflict.
While Ukraine and Palestine are considered the two major global hotspots of conflict, analysts say other regions of the world are increasingly vulnerable to uprisings.
According to ACLED’s Conflict Watchlist for 2025, Mexico and Colombia in the Americas, Pakistan in Asia and Sudan, Sahel and the Great Lakes region of Africa are also “crisis areas” likely to evolve over the next 12 months.
Also on the watchlist are Myanmar, Ukraine, Iran and its allies, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
The UN estimates that 305 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2025, as their needs are further driven by conflict and violence.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies warns that the humanitarian needs of people in places such as Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine will “likely remain severely underfunded despite obligations to protect the delivery of humanitarian aid under international humanitarian law.”
