Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2022

The document reports that 2022 was the deadliest year for state-based conflicts in Africa since 1989, primarily due to the war in Ethiopia. While non-state conflicts are the most common type of conflict in the region, they have generally been less severe in terms of battle-related deaths than state-based conflicts. The brief also highlights a worrying trend of one-sided violence by governments and a series of military coups in Central and West Africa between 2020 and 2023.

• The year 2022 was the deadliest for state-based conflicts in Africa since 1989, largely driven by the war between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which caused over 100,200 battle-related deaths in 2022 alone.
• Non-state conflicts are more frequent than state-based conflicts in Africa, increasing from 5 in 1989 to 42 in 2022, although they have been less severe on average than in the 1990s.
• In 2022, 58% of all global state-based conflicts occurred in Africa, and the conflict in Ethiopia resulted in more deaths than any other state-based conflict worldwide since 1988.
• One-sided violence remains a significant concern, with 30 groups in Africa perpetrating such violence in 2022, including 12 governments.
• Between 2020 and September 2023, six military coups occurred in Central and West Africa, specifically in Mali (twice), Chad, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
• Sudan experienced the highest number of non-state conflicts in Africa in 2022, including a conflict between the Hausa and the indigenous Funj in Blue Nile State that caused nearly 400 battle-related deaths.

APA

Obermeier, A. M. (2023). Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2022. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a41a89d7-84f2-490f-9b0f-bcdb2fbf9e85/Obermeier - Conflict Trends in Africa 1989-2022 - Conflict Trends 5-2023.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Obermeier, Anna Marie. Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2022. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2023. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a41a89d7-84f2-490f-9b0f-bcdb2fbf9e85/Obermeier - Conflict Trends in Africa 1989-2022 - Conflict Trends 5-2023.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Obermeier |first1=Anna Marie |title=Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2022 |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=May 2023 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a41a89d7-84f2-490f-9b0f-bcdb2fbf9e85/Obermeier - Conflict Trends in Africa 1989-2022 - Conflict Trends 5-2023.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{obermeier2023conflict, author = {Obermeier, Anna Marie}, title = {{Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2022}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/a41a89d7-84f2-490f-9b0f-bcdb2fbf9e85/Obermeier - Conflict Trends in Africa 1989-2022 - Conflict Trends 5-2023.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }