Armed Conflict, 1989–2003

The global number of armed conflicts continued to decline in 2003. A total of 29 conflicts in 22 countries were active in 2003, as against 31 conflicts in 23 countries in 2002. This is the lowest level of armed conflict since the early 1970s. The probability that any particular country was involved in a conflict has never been lower since the early 1950s. Five of the conflicts active in 2003 reached the level of war. A total of 229 armed conflicts in 148 countries have been recorded for the period after World War II (1946–2003). Of these, 116 conflicts in 78 countries were active in the period after the end of the Cold War (1989–2003). Most conflicts are internal: only seven interstate armed conflicts were recorded in the period 1989–2003, of which two were still active in 2003. The measurement of armed conflict is mainly based on news reporting, and it suffers from national and cultural biases. But the scrutiny of armed conflict is becoming more intense, and new sources of information are emerging. For this reason, we have increasing confidence in our data.