The world had the highest number of conflicts since 1946 in 2024, according to a study.

In 2024, the planet experienced the highest number of armed conflicts since 1946, and the Americas were the continent with the highest death toll in non-state conflicts, according to a Norwegian study published this week.

The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) report distinguishes between conflicts involving state involvement and conflicts between non-state actors.

Among the former, the institute lists 61 conflicts worldwide, spread across 36 countries , some of which have been shaken by several simultaneous outbreaks.

In 2023, there were 59 conflicts in 34 countries, according to the PRIO report, based on data compiled by Uppsala University in Sweden.

"It's not just an increase, it's a structural shift. Today's world is much more violent and much more fragmented than it was a decade ago," said Siri Aas Rustad, lead editor of the report, which has been tracking trends since 1946.

On the non-state side, the report lists 74 (six fewer than in 2023), but highlights that Latin America was the region with the highest number of deaths in this type of conflict, close to 13,000, that is, four times more than in Africa and 74% of the world total (17,500).

The PRIO document highlights how in the Americas this violence is primarily the work of "highly organized groups," such as gangs and drug cartels.

Returning to conflicts involving at least one state, these caused some 129,000 deaths in 2024, making it the fourth bloodiest year since 1989, surpassed only by the three immediately preceding years.

This 2024 balance sheet was fueled by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Africa remains the continent with the most state conflicts, 28, followed by Asia (17), the Middle East (10), Europe (three) and America (two, Colombia and Haiti).

In passing, the report appealed to the United States' responsibility to prevent the world from becoming even more violent.

"Now is not the time for the United States or any other major world power to abandon its international commitment. Faced with the global rise in violence, isolationism would be a grave mistake with long-term consequences for human life," said Siri Aas Rustad, referring to the "America First" doctrine championed by President Donald Trump since returning to the White House in January.

"Whether under President Trump or any other administration, abandoning international solidarity now would mean abandoning the stability that the United States helped build after 1945," he added.