Figures updated · Text reviewed · By the Riftrate team · How the index is built
| # | Country | Armed-conflict intensity | Compared with its own history |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yemen | 29.3% | above its usual level |
| 2 | Gaza and the West Bank | 23.7% | around its usual level |
| 3 | Jordan | 22.9% | far above its usual level |
| 4 | Ethiopia | 19.9% | far above its usual level |
| 5 | Somalia | 16.8% | around its usual level |
| 6 | Myanmar | 16.2% | around its usual level |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | 15.6% | far above its usual level |
| 8 | Syria | 14.7% | around its usual level |
| 9 | Sudan | 14.5% | above its usual level |
| 10 | Lebanon | 14.4% | above its usual level |
The full ranking, with a page and a history since 2017 for each country, is on the countries page.
What the ranking measures, and what it does not
The ranking measures news, not casualties. A country rises when a large part of what the world’s media report from it is about fighting, strikes, bombings or military threats. It does not depend on the size of the country or on how many journalists cover it, because it compares a country with itself: armed violence divided by all its news.
It does not say who is right, how many people have died, or whether a conflict is legally a war. For casualty figures, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project (ACLED) and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) are the reference sources.
How many armed conflicts are there?
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program counted 61 state-based armed conflicts in 2024, the highest number since its records began in 1946, up from 59 in 2023. Eleven of them reached the level of war, defined as at least 1,000 battle-related deaths in a year (Uppsala University, June 2025). These yearly counts and Riftrate’s hourly ranking answer different questions: how many conflicts exist, and where armed violence dominates the news this week.
Compare two countries
To see two rivals side by side since 2017, use the country comparison, with ready-made pages such as Israel vs Iran, Russia vs Ukraine and India vs Pakistan.
Is this unusual for the country?
Each country page also compares today with that country’s own history since 2017. A country at war for years can read “around its usual level” while still topping the ranking, and a usually calm country can be “far above its usual level” with a modest score.
Frequently asked questions
How many wars are there in the world right now?
Counts depend on definitions. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program counted 61 state-based armed conflicts in 2024, of which 11 reached the level of war (1,000 battle deaths or more in a year). Riftrate does not count wars but measures, every hour, how much of each country’s news is about armed violence.
Where does the data come from?
From the GDELT Project, which codes events reported in the world’s news in more than 100 languages and locates them. The calculation is described on the methodology page.
How often is the ranking updated?
Every hour, by an automatic process. Each country page shows the trend over the last 12 months and since 2017.