Baseline
Topics / Peace & Security Peace & Security

Wars have not disappeared. But per person, fewer people die in them today than in any earlier period on record.

−90 % Death rate in state-based conflicts, 1950 vs. 2025 (22 vs. 1.9 per 100,000 people). Source: UCDP, PRIO via OWID
70+ yrs without a direct war between the great powers – since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Source: Gaddis; Pinker; Our World in Data
0 wars between member states of the European Union since its founding. Source: historical record
Deaths in wars and violent political conflicts, worldPer 100,000 people per year, average by period, 1400–2025
040801400s1450s1500s1550s401600s1650s1700s1750s191800s1850s791900s121950s1.32000s Sources: 1400–1999: Brecke, Conflict Catalog (historical reconstruction); 2000–2025: Uppsala Conflict Data Program, all conflict deaths; via Our World in Data. The two sources use different methods.

Why it changed

After two world wars, the risk of dying in war fell sharply. Researchers point to several reasons: nuclear deterrence between great powers, trade that made war more costly, international institutions, and the spread of democracy.

In Europe, former enemies became partners: the European Union has turned the continent of two world wars into a zone of lasting peace.

What still needs doing

The recent trend is worrying. In 2025, researchers recorded 65 armed conflicts involving states – the most since 1946 – and the highest death toll from organised violence since 1994, with the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza among the deadliest. Peace is an achievement that must be protected.

Sources

  1. Our World in Data – Global death rate in violent political conflicts over the long run (Brecke, Conflict Catalog). ourworldindata.org
  2. Our World in Data – Death rate in armed conflicts (UCDP). ourworldindata.org
  3. Our World in Data – Death rate in state-based conflicts (UCDP; PRIO). ourworldindata.org
  4. Uppsala Conflict Data Program – Record number of conflicts between states (press release, June 2026). uu.se
  5. PRIO – Conflict Trends: A Global Overview 1946–2025 (2026).
  6. Gaddis, J. L. (1986) – The Long Peace. International Security; Pinker, S. (2011) – The Better Angels of Our Nature.
Last reviewed: 11 November 2026 · All figures rounded.