African countries involved in five or more external conflicts

Countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran, and France posted some of the highest scores on this indicator. In total, 44 countries saw their scores worsen in this area, with four of the ten steepest declines occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Business Insider Africa presents the African countries involved in five or more external conflicts in 2024.
• The list is courtesy of Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
• In total, 44 countries saw their scores worsen in this area, with four of the ten steepest declines occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

If the world feels a little tenser, a little more uncertain lately, you’re not imagining things. The 2025 Global Peace Index (GPI) confirms that global peacefulness has declined yet again, marking the sixth straight year of backsliding and the 13th time in the last 17 years.

Despite this trend, the Safety and Security domain was the only one of the GPI’s three core indicators to register an improvement. A total of 95 countries saw gains in this domain, compared to 67 that recorded a decline.

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Improvements were largely driven by better public perceptions of criminality, lower scores on the political terror scale, and a reduction in violent demonstrations. Notably, the global homicide rate has reached its lowest point since the index was first introduced.

However, the most significant deterioration came from the External Conflicts Fought indicator. This measure worsened notably due to the growing involvement of foreign actors in domestic conflicts worldwide. Countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran, and France posted some of the highest scores on this indicator.

In total, 44 countries saw their scores worsen in this area, with four of the ten steepest declines occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2025, 98 countries have been at least partially involved in external conflicts over the past five years, a sharp increase from just 59 in 2008.

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In many instances, these involvements included supporting incumbent governments in battles against rebel groups or terrorist organisations.

The findings show a concerning trend, while some aspects of safety are improving domestically, international conflict and foreign interventions continue to destabilize global peace.

Below are the African countries involved in five or more external conflicts:

Rank	Country	UN Involvement	African Union Involvement	Other	Total
1	Cameroon	4		2	6
2	Burundi	3		3	6
3	Burkina Faso	3		2	5
4	Nigeria	2		3	5
5	Tanzania	4	1		5
6	Rwanda	4	1		5
7	Ghana	2		3	5
8	Niger	3		2	5

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