Countries Most Affected by Active War or Major Armed Conflict — July 2026

Sudan remains in a large-scale civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, with severe fighting, mass displacement, famine risk, attacks on civilians, and devastated public services. Current reporting describes at least tens of thousands of deaths, millions displaced, more than 30 million needing humanitarian aid, and grave civilian-protection concerns.

Sudan remains #1 because no other current conflict combines this level of national collapse, displacement, hunger, drone escalation, civilian-protection concern, atrocity reporting, and aid obstruction at the same scale. Amnesty International’s El Fasher findings reinforce that Sudan’s burden is not only large, but also marked by grave allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.

Sudan remains unchanged at #1 because its national collapse, mass displacement, hunger, and civilian-protection burden remain the clearest and heaviest combined war burden in this July comparison.

Gaza remains under severe conflict conditions, with continuing violence despite a ceasefire, widespread displacement, damaged infrastructure, humanitarian constraints, and deep civilian trauma. Current reporting describes Gaza’s 1,000-day war burden, continued deaths, large-scale displacement, damaged health facilities, stalled recovery, and fragile humanitarian conditions.

Gaza remains #2 because the civilian burden is extraordinarily concentrated. Sudan’s national-scale collapse keeps it first, but Gaza remains one of the clearest cases where war has shattered daily life for almost an entire population.

State of Palestine / Gaza remains unchanged at #2 because the war remains severe, concentrated, and directly tied to civilians’ daily survival, even though Sudan’s wider national collapse keeps Sudan above it.

Ukraine remains in a major interstate war with Russia, involving front-line combat, missile and drone attacks, civilian casualties, displacement, and infrastructure damage. The July 2 Kyiv attack shows that the war remains active, lethal, and nationally disruptive.

Ukraine remains #3 because its conflict is large, sustained, militarily intense, and nationally disruptive. It ranks below Sudan and Gaza because the humanitarian collapse and civilian exposure in those cases remain even more extreme, but Ukraine continues to carry one of the world’s largest active war burdens.

Ukraine remains unchanged at #3 because the war remains large, active, and nationally disruptive, with continuing missile and drone attacks, civilian casualties, infrastructure damage, and long-war exhaustion.

Eastern DRC remains affected by armed conflict involving M23 and other armed groups, with Rwanda’s alleged role remaining central to the regional crisis. Current reporting on DRC’s ICJ case against Rwanda supports the regional and civilian-protection dimension, including allegations of massacres, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, and forced displacement.

DRC remains #4 because its conflict burden is severe, long-running, regionally entangled, and deeply harmful to civilians. This ranking does not rest on the ICJ filing alone. It also weighs eastern DRC’s armed-group landscape, conflict-disrupted humanitarian work, drone escalation around Goma, aid-worker risk, displacement concerns, and civilian-protection dangers.

DRC remains unchanged at #4 because eastern conflict, regional involvement, civilian-protection dangers, displacement concerns, and humanitarian-worker risk remain severe enough to keep it in the upper tier.

Myanmar remains in civil war after the 2021 military coup, with junta airstrikes, resistance offensives, ethnic armed conflicts, humanitarian disruption, and widespread civilian fear. Current Myanmar-specific reporting describes intensified paramotor and gyrocopter attacks on villages, schools, hospitals, religious sites, and residential areas, with ACLED data and U.N. displacement figures cited in that reporting.

Myanmar remains #5 because the conflict is national in scope and continues to affect civilians through air attacks, displacement, restricted aid, and fear. Its burden remains below DRC because DRC’s regional spillover and eastern displacement crisis are especially acute, but Myanmar’s countrywide civil war keeps it firmly in the Top Ten.

Myanmar remains unchanged at #5 because its countrywide civil war, aerial attacks, displacement, restricted aid, and fear continue to make it one of the clearest global conflict burdens.

Lebanon remains deeply affected by the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and wider regional war dynamics. Current reporting describes thousands of deaths, large-scale displacement, extensive damage, a fragile framework agreement, and unresolved Hezbollah disarmament and accountability concerns.

Lebanon rises above Iran because the current burden includes intense recent fighting, mass displacement, infrastructure destruction, contested security arrangements, Hezbollah’s rejection or resistance to implementation, and fragile diplomacy. It does not rank higher because the conflict burden is severe but more geographically concentrated than the top-tier national collapses and large-scale wars above it.

Lebanon rises from #7 to #6 because the July evidence shows a severe recent war burden, large-scale displacement, extensive damage, fragile diplomacy, and contested implementation around the Israel-Lebanon framework.

Iran remains affected by recent direct strikes and the wider regional consequences of the 2026 conflict. Current reporting supports the danger of renewed escalation, late-June strike exchanges, Strait of Hormuz tension, maritime insecurity, and fragile diplomatic efforts.

Iran remains in the Top Ten because the war has included direct strikes, civilian casualties, maritime tension, regional military consequences, economic disruption, and fragile diplomacy. It falls behind Lebanon because Lebanon’s current burden is more displacement-heavy and territorially active at this review point.

Iran falls from #6 to #7. The fall should not be read as proof that Iran’s burden has become light. Rather, Lebanon’s current burden is more displacement-heavy and territorially active, while Iran’s July burden is centered more on escalation risk, maritime pressure, and regional insecurity.

South Sudan remains affected by renewed fighting, displacement, humanitarian access restrictions, attacks on health care, and fears that the country could slide back toward full civil war. Current 2026 reporting describes hospital destruction, large displacement, hunger, and escalating violence.

South Sudan remains #8 because the violence is serious and politically dangerous. Earlier 2026 reporting described large displacement and a risk of renewed civil war; FAO/WFP hunger-hotspot reporting quoted through AP also places South Sudan among countries of highest concern for acute hunger, reinforcing the conflict-linked humanitarian burden.

South Sudan remains unchanged at #8 because renewed violence, attacks on health care, displacement, hunger, and political fracture continue to raise fears of a wider return to civil war.

Burkina Faso remains in a major insurgency and counterinsurgency environment, with jihadist violence, state abuses, mass displacement, and large areas outside effective government control. Human Rights Watch findings reported through AP describe severe civilian harm, mass displacement, territorial insecurity, and millions needing humanitarian assistance.

Burkina Faso stays #9 because its conflict burden remains severe and deeply disruptive. Because some of the strongest displacement and territorial-control evidence comes from earlier 2026 reporting, this entry states the claim cautiously while still recognizing the ongoing security crisis and danger to civilians.

Burkina Faso remains unchanged at #9 because jihadist insurgency, state abuses, territorial insecurity, displacement, and civilian-protection concerns continue to shape national life.

Mali qualifies because its conflict involves jihadist groups, Tuareg separatists, Malian armed forces, and allied forces, with current reporting describing killings, drone strikes, arson, coordinated attacks, and targeted violence against civilians.

Mali enters at #10 because the July review found stronger, more recent, and more directly conflict-specific evidence for Mali than for Yemen. It does not rank higher because its humanitarian scale and national disruption still appear somewhat less severe than Burkina Faso’s broader displacement and territorial-control crisis.

Mali enters the Top Ten from the June watchlist because recent reporting points to serious civilian abuses, coordinated attacks, insurgent pressure, and a worsening Sahel conflict burden.