Top Ten Countries Most Affected by Active War or Major Armed Conflict (May 2026)

Sudan is in a large-scale civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, with severe fighting, mass displacement, hunger, infrastructure collapse, and continued attacks affecting civilians and humanitarian access.

Sudan remains the clearest number one because no other current conflict combines such massive displacement, food insecurity, national fragmentation, access constraints, and ongoing armed violence at this scale. ACAPS reports that more than 30 million people need humanitarian or protection assistance, with conflict as the main driver and severe food insecurity including famine conditions in parts of the country.

Sudan’s war has now entered its fourth year and continues to deepen. Recent AP reporting notes that more than 40% of Sudan’s population is facing high acute food insecurity, while roughly 13 million people have been displaced and more than 30 million need aid. Drone warfare and attacks on civilian areas have also become a major feature of the conflict, worsening the danger for markets, hospitals, schools, and displaced civilians.

Sudan’s health system, food supply, civilian protection environment, and state capacity have all been badly damaged. The conflict is no longer just a military contest; it is reshaping the survival conditions of the country.

Sudan calls for urgent prayer for protection of civilians, restraint of evil, provision for the hungry and displaced, endurance for believers, and mercy for churches seeking to serve amid fear, scarcity, and grief.

The State of Palestine, especially Gaza, remains under catastrophic conflict conditions involving occupation-related warfare, repeated strikes, displacement, humanitarian access constraints, infrastructure collapse, and severe civilian deprivation.

It ranks second because the density and concentration of civilian suffering in Gaza remain among the most extreme in the world. I place it below Sudan only because Sudan’s displacement and national-scale collapse are broader in absolute scale, while Gaza’s devastation is more geographically concentrated but extraordinarily severe.

ACAPS reports that all 2.1 million people in Gaza need humanitarian assistance, that almost the entire population has been displaced at least once, and that the population continues to face severe shortages of food, water, shelter, health care, and education. Recent ACAPS updates also point to sharply constrained flour supplies and reduced bread production, with large numbers still projected in crisis-level food insecurity.

Gaza’s civilian systems have been profoundly disrupted: shelter, health care, food access, water, education, and ordinary family life remain under crushing strain.

This burden calls for prayer for mercy, protection of civilians, care for the wounded and hungry, comfort for grieving families, faithful witness by the church, and a just and durable peace.

Ukraine remains the site of a major interstate war, with entrenched front-line fighting, Russian missile and drone attacks, civilian casualties, mass displacement, and infrastructure damage.

Ukraine ranks third because the war remains militarily intense, nationally disruptive, and strategically significant. It ranks below Sudan and Gaza because Ukraine’s state capacity and national systems, though heavily strained, remain more intact than the most catastrophic conflict environments above it.

ACAPS reports that 12.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, with millions internally displaced or living as refugees. Recent updates point to intensified Russian pressure around key eastern areas, civilian evacuations, and heavy strikes on energy infrastructure, including major disruptions to power, heat, water, and civilian life.

The war continues to affect housing, energy, hospitals, schools, mental health, displacement, and daily life across much of the country, not only in front-line areas.

Ukraine remains a major prayer burden for civilian protection, endurance under bombardment, care for the displaced, mercy for the bereaved, and faithfulness among churches serving amid long war.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains affected by major armed conflict, especially in the east, where M23 and other armed groups have driven violence, displacement, civilian abuses, and regional destabilization.

DRC ranks fourth because eastern Congo’s conflict burden is extraordinarily severe and has recently intensified. It ranks below Ukraine because the most acute fighting is more regionally concentrated, but the humanitarian and civilian-protection burden is among the heaviest in the world.

Recent AP reporting notes that M23 escalated sharply in January 2026, seizing Goma and then Bukavu, while the broader conflict involves more than 100 armed groups and has displaced at least 7 million people. Reporting tied to Human Rights Watch also describes serious abuses, including executions, disappearances, and sexual violence in areas affected by M23 and Rwandan-backed operations.

Eastern DRC faces massive displacement, fear, disrupted aid access, destroyed livelihoods, and deep insecurity. The conflict also has wider regional implications because of Rwanda’s alleged involvement and the strategic importance of the east.

DRC calls for prayer for protection from armed groups, comfort for displaced families, justice for victims of abuse, courage for churches, and mercy for communities living through repeated cycles of violence.

Myanmar remains in nationwide civil war after the 2021 military coup, with widespread armed conflict, systemic violence, political breakdown, mass displacement, and severe access constraints.

Myanmar ranks fifth because the conflict is broad, national, entrenched, and deeply disruptive. It ranks below DRC because current reporting shows eastern DRC’s crisis as more sharply escalated in early 2026, but Myanmar’s nationwide conflict burden remains one of the gravest in the world.

ACAPS reports that 19.9 million people need humanitarian assistance, around 3.5 million are internally displaced, and the country remains one of the most constrained humanitarian access environments globally. The conflict continues to combine armed violence, political collapse, economic strain, protection risks, and displacement across multiple regions.

Myanmar’s civil war has fractured public order, damaged livelihoods, restricted aid delivery, and left many civilians exposed to violence, displacement, and insecurity.

Prayer is needed for believers and churches enduring fear, displacement, ethnic conflict, military pressure, and uncertainty, and for faithful witness amid the breakdown of ordinary public life.

Iran now qualifies as a major active conflict country because of escalating hostilities involving Iran, Israel, and the United States since late February 2026, including airstrikes, retaliatory attacks, civilian casualties, internal displacement, and disruption of services.

Iran ranks sixth because its current urgency and escalation score is extremely high. It does not yet outrank Myanmar or DRC because the humanitarian crisis is less structurally entrenched over years, but its sharp current escalation makes it one of the most serious active-conflict countries right now.

ACAPS reports that since the late-February escalation, airstrikes and retaliatory attacks have caused civilian casualties, damaged hospitals, schools, water infrastructure, and energy-related facilities, and driven large-scale internal displacement. ACAPS also reports estimates of 600,000 to 1 million households—around 3.2 million people—temporarily fleeing to other provinces following the escalation.

The conflict is affecting civilian services, health care, movement, food access, infrastructure, and public fear. Its regional implications also make it unusually volatile.

Iran calls for prayer for restraint, mercy for civilians, protection of believers, wisdom for rulers, peace in the region, and faithful Christian witness amid fear and uncertainty.

Lebanon qualifies because renewed Israel-Hezbollah hostilities and Israeli strikes have produced large-scale displacement, casualties, infrastructure damage, and severe national strain.

Lebanon ranks seventh because its current conflict burden has intensified sharply and now directly affects national life. It ranks just below Iran because Lebanon is more exposed to spillover and direct strikes than to full nationwide interstate war, but the humanitarian and displacement burden is severe.

ACAPS reports that Lebanon faces large humanitarian needs amid conflict, displacement, and socioeconomic crisis. April 2026 updates describe intensified strikes, hospitals under severe strain, damaged transport routes, aid constraints, and displacement reaching about 1.2 million people. Recent Guardian reporting also describes continuing Israeli strikes and forced evacuations in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire efforts.

Lebanon’s conflict burden intersects with long-running economic crisis, political fragility, refugee pressure, damaged infrastructure, and fear among civilians in affected regions.

Lebanon calls for prayer for peace, protection of civilians, endurance for churches, mercy for displaced families, and wisdom for believers seeking to serve in a fragile and polarized setting.

South Sudan remains affected by renewed armed conflict, intercommunal and political violence, mass displacement, hunger, blocked humanitarian access, and fragile national stability.

South Sudan ranks eighth because the humanitarian severity is extreme and the current conflict risk is rising. It ranks below Lebanon because the present escalation is less clearly a single high-intensity national warfront, but the combined burden of violence, hunger, displacement, and fragile governance remains severe.

ACAPS projects that 10 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2026 and reports renewed hostilities in Jonglei that displaced more than 280,000 people since December 2025. April 2026 updates also describe fighting around Akobo, service disruption, humanitarian withdrawal, looting, and the risk of wider conflict.

Conflict is worsening an already fragile humanitarian environment marked by food insecurity, cholera risk, limited health care, and large-scale displacement.

South Sudan calls for prayer for peace, protection of children and displaced families, strengthened churches, reconciliation, and endurance under repeated cycles of violence and deprivation.

Burkina Faso remains in a major insurgency and counterinsurgency environment, with armed groups controlling or contesting large areas, mass displacement, siege conditions, food insecurity, and civilian exposure to violence.

Burkina Faso ranks ninth because the conflict itself is central to the national crisis: armed groups reportedly control around 40% of the territory, and hundreds of thousands are isolated in besieged towns. It ranks above Yemen in current-conflict intensity, though Yemen’s humanitarian scale remains larger.

ACAPS reports that around 2 million people are internally displaced, non-state armed groups control roughly 40% of the country, and about 800,000 people are isolated in besieged towns. The conflict has now entered its ninth year, with continuing violence, protection risks, disrupted markets, and constrained humanitarian access.

Burkina Faso’s conflict is reshaping mobility, governance, food access, security, and daily life across large parts of the country.

Prayer is needed for protection from armed groups, endurance for churches and families, provision for the displaced and besieged, and restraint of violence.

Yemen remains a major protracted armed-conflict country, with fragmented control, unresolved war dynamics, displacement, damaged services, food insecurity, and renewed political-military instability.

Yemen ranks tenth because its humanitarian crisis and national disruption remain enormous, even though current battlefield intensity is lower than during earlier phases of the war. It narrowly holds the final slot over Syria, Haiti, Nigeria, Somalia, and Mali because the present suffering is still heavily conflict-shaped and the country remains politically and militarily fragmented.

ACAPS reports that 18.6 million people need humanitarian assistance and 4.5 million are internally displaced. Although large-scale fighting has not resumed at the level seen before the expired truce, Yemen remains divided among rival authorities, and recent developments—including southern advances and aid-flight disruption—keep the conflict environment unstable.

Years of war continue to shape hunger, health-system weakness, displacement, economic breakdown, humanitarian access, and political fragmentation.

Yemen calls for prayer for mercy after years of suffering, preservation of civilians, faithful endurance among believers, peace, and access for relief to those most in need.