Last year, 61 conflicts were recorded in 36 countries, some of which were riven by multiple conflicts simultaneously, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). In 2023, the number of conflicts was 59 in 34 countries, according to the PRIO report, cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"This isn't just a spike, it's a structural shift. The world today is much more violent and much more fragmented than it was 10 years ago.", commented the report's lead editor, Siri Aas Rustad.

The report analyzes trends from 1946 to 2024, with Africa remaining the most affected continent, with 28 countries involved in at least one conflict, followed by Asia (17), the Middle East (10), Europe (three), and the Americas (two). More than half of the affected states are divided by two or more conflicts.

The death toll remained roughly stable compared to 2023, at around 129, making 2024 the fourth bloodiest year since the end of the Cold War in 1989, according to the study. The 2024 death toll was driven by the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, but also by fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

“This is not the time for the United States of America, or any other major world power, to turn in on itself and renounce international engagement.”, said Siri Aas Rustad.

The publisher considered that isolationism, "in the face of growing violence in the world, would be a profound mistake with lasting human consequences," referring in particular to the "America First" stance championed by US President Donald Trump. Siri Aas Rustad argued that it is a mistake to think that the world "can look the other way."

“Whether under Donald Trump or a future administration, abandoning global solidarity now would mean abandoning the very stability that the United States of America helped build after 1945.”, he said.

The study is based on data compiled by Uppsala University in Sweden.