List of interstate wars since 1945

This is a list of interstate wars since 1945. Interstate warfare has been defined as military conflict between separate states over a territory,^[1] including irregular military forces legitimized by the laws of war applicable to interstate wars due to the invasion or annexation being unlawful. This does not include civil wars and wars of independence, or smaller clashes with limited casualties (fewer than 100 combat deaths). The largest interstate war in history, World War II, involved most of the world's countries, after which the United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts.^[2] The post-WWII era has, in general, been characterized by the absence of direct, major wars between great powers, such as the United States and (until 1991) the Soviet Union.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

1945–1989

Denotes war with more than 10,000 combat deaths at minimum

Start	Finish	Name of conflict	States in conflict		Combat deaths
Start	Finish	Name of conflict	States in conflict		Min estimate	Max estimate
November 1945	December 15, 1946	Iran crisis of 1946	Iran	Azerbaijan People's Government Republic of Mahabad	2,000+
22 October 1947	5 January 1949	Indo-Pakistani War of 1947	India	Pakistan	2,604	7,500
14 May 1948	10 March 1949	1948 Arab–Israeli War	Israel	Egypt Iraq Transjordan Syria Lebanon Saudi Arabia Yemen	13,073	26,373
13 September 1948	18 September 1948	Operation Polo	India	Hyderabad	32,190	202,190
25 June 1950	27 July 1953^[8]	Korean War^[9]	UN Command South Korea United States United Kingdom Australia Belgium Canada France Philippines Colombia Ethiopia Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand South Africa Thailand Turkey	North Korea China Soviet Union	2,568,927	4,096,927
6 October 1950	24 October 1950	Battle of Chamdo	China	Tibet	294	5,814
3 September 1954	1 May 1955	First Taiwan Strait Crisis	China	Republic of China United States	914	1,054
1 November 1955	15 May 1975	Vietnam War	North Vietnam FNL Khmer Rouge Khmer Issarak Pathet Lao China North Korea Soviet Union	South Vietnam United States^[a] South Korea^[b] Thailand Australia^[c] New Zealand^[d] Laos Khmer Republic Philippines	1,326,494	3,447,494
29 October 1956	7 November 1956	Suez Crisis	Israel^[10]^[11] United Kingdom France	Egypt^[12]	2,848	4,198
1 November 1956	4 November 1956	Soviet invasion of Hungary Part of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956	Soviet Union	Hungary	3,222
23 October 1957	30 June 1958	Ifni War	Spain France	Morocco	1,197
23 August 1958	2 December 1958	Second Taiwan Strait Crisis	Taiwan United States	China	1,054
17 April 1961	20 April 1961	Bay of Pigs Invasion	Cuba	United States DRF	2,298
19 July 1961	23 July 1961	Bizerte crisis	France	Tunisia	654	657
19 December 1961	15 August 1962	Operation Trikora	Indonesia	Netherlands	223
20 October 1962	21 November 1962	Sino-Indian War	China	India	2,105	6,197
20 January 1963	11 August 1966	Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation	Malaysia Singapore United Kingdom Australia New Zealand	Indonesia	874
25 September 1963	20 February 1964	Sand War	Morocco	Algeria	69	500
6 February 1964	6 April 1964	1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War	Ethiopia	Somalia	1,000	2,000
5 August 1965	23 September 1965	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965	India	Pakistan	6,800	13,459
5 October 1966	3 December 1969	Korean DMZ Conflict	South Korea United States	North Korea	739
5 June 1967	10 June 1967	Six-Day War	Israel^[13]	Egypt Syria Jordan Arab Expeditionary Forces: Iraq Saudi Arabia Morocco Algeria Libya Kuwait Tunisia Sudan	12,336	19,264
1 July 1967	7 August 1970	War of Attrition	Israel	Egypt Soviet Union Cuba Jordan Syria	6,442	14,290
20 August 1968	21 August 1968	Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia	Soviet Union Bulgaria East Germany Hungary Poland	Czechoslovakia	254
14 July 1969	18 July 1969	Football War	El Salvador	Honduras	3,000
3 December 1971	16 December 1971	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971	India^[14]^[15]^[16]	Pakistan	11,500	12,843
6 October 1973	25 October 1973	Yom Kippur War	Israel	Egypt Syria Combat support: Iraq Jordan Algeria^[17] Cuba^[18]^[19] Morocco^[20]	10,521	21,300
20 July 1974	18 August 1974	Turkish invasion of Cyprus	Turkey	Cyprus Greece	6,009	9,509
April 1974	March 1975	1974–75 Shatt al-Arab conflict	Iran	Iraq	1,000+
30 October 1975	6 September 1991	Western Sahara War	Morocco Mauritania France	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Algeria	10,000	20,000
7 December 1975	17 July 1976	Indonesian invasion of East Timor	Indonesia	East Timor	51,000+
13 July 1977	23 March 1978	Ogaden War	Ethiopia Cuba South Yemen Soviet Union	Somalia	39,836
21 July 1977	24 July 1977	Egyptian–Libyan War	Egypt	Libya	500
29 January 1978	11 September 1987	Chadian–Libyan War	Chad France	Libya	8,500+
9 October 1978	3 June 1979	Uganda–Tanzania War	Tanzania Mozambique	Uganda Libya	4,135	4,323
21 December 1978	26 September 1989	Cambodian–Vietnamese War	Vietnam People's Republic of Kampuchea	Democratic Kampuchea Thailand	270,000	297,000
17 February 1979	16 March 1979	Sino-Vietnamese War	Vietnam	China	36,945	175,000
24 February 1979	19 March 1979	Yemenite War of 1979	North Yemen	South Yemen	1,084
16 March 1979	1 November 1991	Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991)	Vietnam	China	6,000
24 December 1979	15 February 1989	Soviet–Afghan War	Soviet Union Afghanistan	Afghan Mujahideen^[21] Afghan Interim Government (from 1988)	600,000	2,000,000
22 September 1980	20 August 1988	Iran–Iraq War	Iran^[22]	Iraq United States^[e]	405,000	1,200,000
2 April 1982	14 June 1982	Falklands War	United Kingdom	Argentina	907
June 1982	August 1982	1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War	Somalia	Ethiopia
18 April 1983	April 1983	Chadian–Nigerian War	Nigeria	Chad	100+
25 October 1983	29 October 1983	Invasion of Grenada	United States Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Dominica Jamaica Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Grenada Cuba	102
25 December 1985	30 December 1985	Agacher Strip War	Mali	Burkina Faso	142
20 February 1988	12 May 1994	First Nagorno-Karabakh War	Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armenia	Azerbaijan	37,413	56,000
9 April 1989	18 July 1991	Mauritania–Senegal Border War	Mauritania	Senegal	200+
20 December 1989	31 January 1990	United States invasion of Panama	United States	Panama	540	3,338

1990–present

Denotes war with more than 10,000 combat deaths at minimum

Start	Finish	Name of conflict	States in conflict		Combat deaths
Start	Finish	Name of conflict	States in conflict		Min. estimate	Max. estimate
2 August 1990	28 February 1991	Persian Gulf War	Kuwait United States United Kingdom Saudi Arabia France Italy Canada Australia Egypt Syria Qatar	Iraq	29,231	59,231
2 November 1990	21 July 1992	Transnistria War	Moldova	Transnistria Russia	316	637
5 January 1991	24 June 1992	South Ossetia war (1991–1992)	Georgia	South Ossetia Russia	1,000+
20 September 1991	3 January 1992	Croatian War of Independence	Croatia	Yugoslavia	5,040	7,279
6 April 1992	19 May 1992	Bosnian War^[23]	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yugoslavia^[f] Serbia and Montenegro^[g] Republika Srpska
14 August 1992	27 September 1993	War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)	Abkhazia Russia	Georgia	25,000	30,000
26 January 1995	28 February 1995	Cenepa War	Peru	Ecuador	84	410
24 October 1996	16 May 1997	First Congo War	AFDL Rwanda Uganda Burundi Angola SPLA Eritrea	Zaire Sudan Chad Ex-FAR/ALiR Interahamwe CNDD-FDD UNITA ADF FLNC	235,000	250,000
28 February 1998	10 June 1999	Kosovo War	Kosova NATO^[h]	Yugoslavia	16,056	16,879
3 May 1998	18 June 2000	Eritrean–Ethiopian War	Ethiopia	Eritrea	53,000	300,000
3 May 1999	26 July 1999	Kargil War	India	Pakistan	884	5,600
7 August 1999	30 April 2000	Second Chechen War	Russia	Ichkeria	20,000
5 June 2000	10 June 2000	African Six-Day War Part of the Second Congo War	Rwanda	Uganda	4,051+
7 October 2001	17 December 2001	United States invasion of Afghanistan Part of the Afghan conflict	United States United Kingdom Canada Australia Afghanistan Northern Alliance	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan	9,550	14,388
19 March 2003	1 May 2003	2003 invasion of Iraq	United States United Kingdom Australia Poland	Iraq	10,996	53,016
28 June 2006	Ongoing	Gaza–Israel conflict	Israel	Gaza Strip	42,783
1 August 2008	12 August 2008	Russo-Georgian War	Russia South Ossetia Abkhazia	Georgia	730	737
19 March 2011	31 October 2011	2011 military intervention in Libya Part of the First Libyan Civil War	NATO Qatar Sweden United Arab Emirates	Libya	72	403+
26 March 2012	26 September 2012	Heglig Crisis	Sudan	South Sudan	316	1,485
30 January 2013	8 December 2024	Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war Part of the Syrian Civil War	Israel	Iran Syria	645	671
20 February 2014	Ongoing	Russo-Ukrainian War (outline)	Ukraine	Russia DPR^[i] LPR^[j] North Korea	198,813
22 September 2014	Ongoing	American intervention in the Syrian civil war Part of the Syrian Civil War	United States	Syria Russia Iran Islamic State	192+
1 April 2016	5 April 2016	2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict	Azerbaijan	Artsakh Armenia	137	2,060
24 August 2016	Ongoing	Turkish occupation of northern Syria Part of the Syrian Civil War	Turkey	North and East Syria Syria	5,702+	10,705+
27 February 2020	6 March 2020	Operation Spring Shield Part of the Syrian Civil War	Turkey	Syria Iran	238	446
27 September 2020	10 November 2020	Second Nagorno-Karabakh War	Azerbaijan	Armenia Artsakh	7,726

Notes

^ After 8 March 1965.
^ From 11 September 1964 to 23 March 1973.
^ From June 1965 to 12 March 1972.
^ From July 1965 to 9 December 1971.
^ From 19 October 1987 to 18 April 1988.
^ Until 27 April 1992.
^ After 27 April 1992.
^ After 24 March 1999.
^ Until 30 September 2022.
^ Until 30 September 2022.

References

^ Ray, James Lee (2002). "Does Interstate War Have A Future?". Conflict Management and Peace Science. 19 (1): 53–80. doi:10.1177/073889420201900105. ISSN 0738-8942. JSTOR 26273613. S2CID 220780771.
^ "History of the UN | United Nations Seventieth Anniversary". www.un.org. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
^ Gaddis, John Lewis (1989). The Long Peace: Inquiries Into the History of the Cold War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504335-9.
^ Saperstein, Alvin M. (March 1991). "The "Long Peace"— Result of a Bipolar Competitive World?". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 35 (1): 68–79. doi:10.1177/0022002791035001004. S2CID 153738298.
^ Duffield, John S. (2009). "Explaining the Long Peace in Europe: the contributions of regional security regimes". Review of International Studies. 20 (4): 369–388. doi:10.1017/S0260210500118170. ISSN 0260-2105. S2CID 145698353.
^ Fettweis, Christopher J. (2017). "Unipolarity, Hegemony, and the New Peace". Security Studies. 26 (3): 423–451. doi:10.1080/09636412.2017.1306394. ISSN 0963-6412. S2CID 148993870.
^ Human Security Research Group, Simon Fraser University (2013). "Human Security Report 2013: The Decline in Global Violence" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2018.
^ US State Department statement regarding "Korea: Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission" and the Armistice Agreement "which ended the Korean War."
^ "The Korean War (article) | 1950s America". Khan Academy. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
^ "Israel Routs Egypt"
^ "Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins"
^ "Nasser lost the war in military terms"
^ "Six-Day War". Encyclopedia Britannica.
^ Lyon, Peter (2008). Conflict between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-57607-712-2. India's decisive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war and emergence of independent Bangladesh dramatically transformed the power balance of South Asia
^ Kemp, Geoffrey (2010). The East Moves West India, China, and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East. Brookings Institution Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8157-0388-4. However, India's decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971 led the Shah to pursue closer relations with India
^ Byman, Daniel (2005). Deadly connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-521-83973-0. India's decisive victory in 1971 led to the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972
^ Shazly, p. 278.
^ Perez, Louis A. (2014). Cuba Between Reform And Revolution (Paperback ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0199301447. Cuba also dispatched combat troops to Syria in 1973 during the Yom Kipur War
^ Gott, Cuba, A New History, p. 280.
^ Tobji, Mahjoub (2006). Les officiers de Sa Majesté: Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956–2006. 107: Fayard. ISBN 978-2213630151.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ W. Michael Reisman, James Silk (1988). "WHICH LAW APPLIES TO THE AFGHAN CONFLICT?" (PDF). American Journal of International Law. 82: 485-486.
^ "Iran 'won' the war with Iraq but at a heavy price". Atlantic Council. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
^ "Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: Topical Digests of the Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia". Human Rights Watch. February 2004. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2017. [F]or the period material to this case (1992), the armed forces of the Republika Srpska were to be regarded as acting under the overall control of and on behalf of the FRY (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Hence, even after 19 May 1992 the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina between the Bosnian Serbs and the central authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be classified as an international armed conflict.

[10] After 8 March 1965.

[11] From 11 September 1964 to 23 March 1973.

[12] From June 1965 to 12 March 1972.

[13] From July 1965 to 9 December 1971.

[27] From 19 October 1987 to 18 April 1988.

[29] Until 27 April 1992.

[30] After 27 April 1992.

[31] After 24 March 1999.

[32] Until 30 September 2022.

[33] Until 30 September 2022.

[1] Ray, James Lee (2002). "Does Interstate War Have A Future?". Conflict Management and Peace Science. 19 (1): 53–80. doi:10.1177/073889420201900105. ISSN 0738-8942. JSTOR 26273613. S2CID 220780771.

[2] "History of the UN | United Nations Seventieth Anniversary". www.un.org. Retrieved 2022-03-09.

[Gaddis1989-3] Gaddis, John Lewis (1989). The Long Peace: Inquiries Into the History of the Cold War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504335-9.

[Saperstein1991-4] Saperstein, Alvin M. (March 1991). "The "Long Peace"— Result of a Bipolar Competitive World?". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 35 (1): 68–79. doi:10.1177/0022002791035001004. S2CID 153738298.

[Duffield2009-5] Duffield, John S. (2009). "Explaining the Long Peace in Europe: the contributions of regional security regimes". Review of International Studies. 20 (4): 369–388. doi:10.1017/S0260210500118170. ISSN 0260-2105. S2CID 145698353.

[Fettweis2017-6] Fettweis, Christopher J. (2017). "Unipolarity, Hegemony, and the New Peace". Security Studies. 26 (3): 423–451. doi:10.1080/09636412.2017.1306394. ISSN 0963-6412. S2CID 148993870.

[HSC2013-7] Human Security Research Group, Simon Fraser University (2013). "Human Security Report 2013: The Decline in Global Violence" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2018.

[8] US State Department statement regarding "Korea: Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission" and the Armistice Agreement "which ended the Korean War."

[9] "The Korean War (article) | 1950s America". Khan Academy. Retrieved 2022-03-18.

[14] "Israel Routs Egypt"

[15] "Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins"

[16] "Nasser lost the war in military terms"

[17] "Six-Day War". Encyclopedia Britannica.

[Lyon-18] Lyon, Peter (2008). Conflict between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-57607-712-2. India's decisive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war and emergence of independent Bangladesh dramatically transformed the power balance of South Asia

[Kemp-19] Kemp, Geoffrey (2010). The East Moves West India, China, and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East. Brookings Institution Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8157-0388-4. However, India's decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971 led the Shah to pursue closer relations with India

[Byman-20] Byman, Daniel (2005). Deadly connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-521-83973-0. India's decisive victory in 1971 led to the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972

[Shazly_p.278-21] Shazly, p. 278.

[22] Perez, Louis A. (2014). Cuba Between Reform And Revolution (Paperback ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0199301447. Cuba also dispatched combat troops to Syria in 1973 during the Yom Kipur War

[23] Gott, Cuba, A New History, p. 280.

[tobji-24] Tobji, Mahjoub (2006). Les officiers de Sa Majesté: Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956–2006. 107: Fayard. ISBN 978-2213630151.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[25] W. Michael Reisman, James Silk (1988). "WHICH LAW APPLIES TO THE AFGHAN CONFLICT?" (PDF). American Journal of International Law. 82: 485-486.

[26] "Iran 'won' the war with Iraq but at a heavy price". Atlantic Council. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2022-02-27.

[ICTY_International_conflict-28] "Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: Topical Digests of the Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia". Human Rights Watch. February 2004. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2017. [F]or the period material to this case (1992), the armed forces of the Republika Srpska were to be regarded as acting under the overall control of and on behalf of the FRY (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Hence, even after 19 May 1992 the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina between the Bosnian Serbs and the central authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be classified as an international armed conflict.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[e]

[23]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[i]

[j]

v t e Interstate warfare in the Post–Cold War era (1990–present)
1990–1999	Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Gulf War Yugoslav Wars Ten-Day War Croatian War of Independence Bosnian War Croat–Bosniak War Kosovo War NATO bombing of Yugoslavia First Nagorno-Karabakh War Cenepa War Hanish Islands conflict First Congo War Eritrean–Ethiopian War border conflict Second Congo War Six-Day War Kargil War
2000–2019	Second Intifada War in Afghanistan invasion Iraq War invasion 2006 Lebanon War Russo-Georgian War Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict NATO-led intervention in Libya Heglig Crisis Russo-Ukrainian War Crimea Donbas Saudi-led intervention in Yemen UAE occupation of Socotra 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Turkish occupation of northern Syria 2016–17 2018 2019
2020–present	Operation Spring Shield (Turkey, Syria, Iran) Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan conflict 2021 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis September 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War invasion of Ukraine 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
Related	Transnistria War South Ossetia War Abkhazia conflict 1992–1993 1998 Chechen Wars first second Gaza–Israel conflict 2008–2009 2014 2023–present War in Somalia (2006–2009) War in Iraq (2013–2017) war against the Islamic State Tigray war Al-Shabaab invasion of Ethiopia
Bold – conflicts responsible for 100,000+ deaths; Italics – ongoing conflict

1945–1989

1990–present

See also

Notes

References