The world continues to be marked by high levels of violence, and the most dangerous conflict hotspots remain Palestine, Ukraine and Mexico, according to the latest ACLED Conflict Index, writes N1.
ACLED's Conflict Index is a global assessment of how and where conflicts differ across countries and territories around the world based on four indicators: lethality, civilian harm, geographic spread, and number of armed groups.
Palestine, Mexico and Ukraine
Palestine also has the most geographically widespread conflict: ACLED records high levels of violence in almost 70% of the territories of Gaza and the West Bank.
Myanmar is the most fragmented conflict in the world – more than 1.200 different armed groups have participated in at least one violent incident.
Pakistan has become more dangerous for civilians in the past 12 months, with the number of deaths caused by political violence rising due to strengthening regional insurgencies and a short-lived but intense escalation of conflict with India.
Haiti has become more deadly and dangerous for civilians: more than 4.500 Haitians have been killed in political violence, while the number of targeted attacks on civilians has also increased.
Ecuador has also become more deadly, with more than 1.000 additional deaths caused by political violence compared to 2024.
Where do conflicts occur?
ACLED's Conflict Index ranks the 50 most severe conflicts in the world and categorizes them as extreme, high or unstable.
How many conflicts are there in the world?
The level of conflict has remained stable over the past 12 months. ACLED recorded 204.605 conflict events from December 1, 2024, to November 28, 2025, compared to 208.219 events in the previous 12 months.
These violent events resulted – according to conservative estimates – in more than 240.000 deaths.
Wars in Ukraine i Palestinethey are still the main drivers of violence and account for more than 40% of all conflict events in the past year. Civil wars in Myanmar and Sudan remain at a high level, and gang violence continues to fuel conflict: Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti and Mexico rank among the ten countries with the most severe forms of violence in the world.
Fighting in Syria continued despite the decline Bashar al-Assad, while in Nigeria there was no respite from the complex web of regional conflicts. In Pakistan, worsening Islamist and separatist insurgencies on the country's periphery—further fueled by occasionally explosive relations with its neighbors—have led to a further deterioration of an already volatile security situation.
How have conflicts changed?
Although the five leading countries on the Index maintained their positions, some conflicts within these countries have changed significantly. Palestine is the third deadliest area in the world, despite a drop in conflict-related deaths due to the Gaza ceasefire. In terms of lethality, it is surpassed only by Ukraine and Sudan.
By contrast, in Syria, the number of conflict-related deaths – fueled by a combination of political competition, sectarian violence and foreign interference – has risen from just over 6.000 to more than 9.000 in the past 12 months.
Myanmar, Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria remained consistently high in all four indicators of the Index. Of particular note is the rise in gang violence in Ecuador and Haiti, which led to their rise in the rankings.
Ecuador rose to 6th place as more than 50 armed groups, including nearly 40 gangs, were actively involved in violence over the past year. More than half of these gangs were involved in more than 2.500 incidents targeting civilians.
In Haiti, a near doubling of the death toll and a rise in attacks on civilians led to a jump in the rankings – from 11th place in 2024 to 8th place this year.
Source: N1
Photo: ACLED
