Wars since 1500

Five centuries of war: the interstate wars fought between sovereign states, and the notable civil wars labelled as such, with belligerents linked to their country pages throughout. Combat-death estimates come from Wikipedia from 1945; for wars since 1816 with no Wikipedia figure, Correlates of War battle-death counts are shown and labelled as such. Wars before 1816 carry no figure. The modern era refreshes monthly.

621 wars · 8 ongoing · 141 major · 57 civil wars

Iran War2026–present
Combat deaths: 3,411–9,114
Combat deaths: 100–457
Combat deaths: 1,091–1,226
Combat deaths: 83–210
State Administration Council,Tatmadaw,Myanmar Army,Border Guard Forces,Myanmar Air Force,Myanmar Navy,Myanmar Coast Guard,Myanmar Police Force,Border Guard Police,Pyusawhti militias,Thway Thout,Aligned ethnic armed organisationsvs
Combat deaths: —
Combat deaths: 7,726+
Combat deaths: 400,000–650,000
Libya House of Representatives (Tobruk-based)vsLibyan National Army,Libyan Air Force,Libyan Navy,Wagner Group,Egypt Egypt,United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates,RSF (from 2019),Ba'athist Syria,Hezbollah (allegedly)
Combat deaths: —
Supreme Political Council (formerly SRC),Houthis,GPC (pro-Houthi),Saleh loyalists (until 2017),Pro-Houthi Popular Committees,Sanaa-GPC forces,Republic of Yemen (internationally recognized; led by the PLC since 2022),Yemeni Armed Forces,Republican Guard,GPC,STC (2022–present),United Arab EmiratesvsAl-Qaeda and allies,AQAP,Ansar al-Sharia,Council of Scholars of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'ah,Hadhrami Domestic council,Dhi Na'im tribe,Al-Hamiqan tribe,Islamic State,Yemen Province
Combat deaths: —
Iraq,Kurdistan Region,CJTF–OIR coalition,IranvsIslamic State
Combat deaths: —
South Sudan South SudanvsSPLA,Air Force,Mathiang Anyoor,Maban Defence Force,SSLM,SRF
Combat deaths: —

621 of 621 wars · bold = principal belligerent · red ● = major war · civil wars labelled · deaths from Wikipedia since 1945; “COW battle deaths” marks Correlates of War battle-death counts (1816+), which run lower than total deaths

Interstate war = armed conflict between sovereign states (excludes rebellions and purely colonial campaigns; wars of independence appear only where sovereign states fought on both sides). Notable civil wars, from the Wars of Religion and the Taiping Rebellion to Syria and Yemen, are included and carry a civil-war label. Predecessor states are mapped to their modern country where the continuation is clear: Ottoman Empire to Turkey, Prussia to Germany, the Russian Empire and Soviet Union to Russia; non-state forces are shown unlinked. Major = 10,000+ deaths by the figure shown (Wikipedia, or Correlates of War battle deaths); wars with no figure keep a curated first-rank flag. Sources: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945” (refreshed monthly) and the “List of wars” series, 1500–1944, curated to notable interstate wars. Where Wikipedia gives no figure, deaths for wars from 1816 come from the Correlates of War project (Inter-State v4.0, Extra-State v4.0, Intra-State v5.1 and Non-State v4.0 war datasets, correlatesofwar.org); these are battle deaths, which run lower than total deaths, and are marked “COW battle deaths”. Where COW splits one war into several, the phases inside the war’s dates are added up and marked “summed”; such totals may be incomplete. Where COW splits one war into several, the phases inside the war’s dates are added up and marked “summed”; such totals may be incomplete.