Palestine is the most dangerous place in the world, according to the ACLED Conflict Index, now updated with mid-year rankings. It finds that 87% of the Palestinian population across Gaza and the West Bank was exposed to extreme violence from 1 July 2023-30 June 2024.
ACLED’s Conflict Index ranks every country and territory in the world by four measures: diffusion, deadliness, danger to civilians, and fragmentation. Palestine ranks at the top for three out of the four indicators — diffusion, deadliness, and danger to civilians — with Myanmar’s more than 1,500 armed groups giving it the top spot as the most fragmented country; a stark change from the findings of the January 2024 edition.
Palestine witnessed 39,800 reported fatalities from July 2023 to the end of June 2024 — at least 35,200 of which are civilian deaths — displacing the previous most deadly conflict, Ukraine, where ACLED recorded more than 37,300 deaths in the same time period. ACLED also recorded at least 16,930 conflict events in Palestine during this 12-month period, with nearly 3.5 million people in the occupied territories living within 1-kilometer of violence.
The July 2024 edition also found that global conflict has continued its steady upward rise since 2020. The number of overall political violence and protest events rose to more than 165,000 events in the 12 months to 30 June 2024, an increase of 15% from the previous 12 months and up 64% from the June 2020-July 2021 figure.
“Wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Myanmar are responsible for much of the rise, as well as continuing conflicts in Sudan, Mexico, Yemen, and the Sahel,” said Clionadh Raleigh, ACLED President & CEO. “Palestinian deaths are also the main reason global fatalities in political conflict climbed to more than 200,000 in the year to 30 June, up a shocking one-third from nearly 150,000 deaths worldwide in the previous period.”
One in seven people worldwide are estimated to have been exposed to conflict between July 2023 and 2024. While some degree of political violence occurs in almost every country and territory worldwide, the highest levels are concentrated in the top 50 ranked locations on the ACLED Conflict Index — accounting for over 97% of all conflict events recorded for the past year.
The ACLED Conflict Index is a resource to monitor, measure, and map political violence patterns around the world. The Index allows users to identify how much conflict is happening and where, track its evolving forms, and chart its trajectory into the future. Visit the ACLED website to explore the Index and access additional resources, including methodology, downloadable results for every country and territory, and an interactive dashboard.
ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data) is an independent, impartial, international non-profit organization collecting data on violent conflict and protest in all countries and territories in the world.
Press Contact
Gina Dorso, ACLED Communications Coordinator
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