2026-04-11 · estimated annual battle deaths
African conflicts account for most battle deaths
State-based wars concentrate fatalities in a handful of regions.
Africa now accounts for 55% of the world's estimated 100,000 annual battle deaths in state-based conflicts — more than every other region combined. Asia & Pacific follows at 23.4%, the Americas at 9%. The share reflects a war toll that has soared across Africa even as global deaths stay below 20th-century peaks.
1 cell = 100 estimated annual battle deaths (0.1% of state-based conflict deaths) · 1,000 cells
Context
The figures come from UCDP/PRIO data on state-based conflict deaths by region, compiled by Our World in Data. Africa's 55% share of an estimated 100,000 annual battle deaths leads all regions, ahead of Asia & Pacific at 23.4% and the Americas at 9%.
The burden is even more concentrated by country: in 2022, more than 40% of people who died from conflict worldwide were in Ethiopia, and in 2021 Afghanistan accounted for almost a third. The countries at the top of that list change frequently from year to year.
Our World in Data stresses that the recent decline in conflict deaths is not guaranteed to hold — deaths have recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and a single deadly war can reshape the trend. Since 1800, more than 37 million people have died while actively fighting in wars.
State-based conflict deaths by region (UCDP/PRIO via OWID).
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Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-04-11-pol-conflict-africa-share