What Is the Biggest Global Issue Today? Conflict Is Now the Top Threat

The world is facing many big problems-rising temperatures, hungry people, broken democracies, AI gone wild. But if you ask global leaders what’s causing the most immediate danger right now, the answer isn’t climate change. It’s not even the economy. It’s state-based armed conflict.

Why Conflict Is Number One in 2025

The war in Ukraine, now in its third year since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues to drain resources, disrupt food supplies, and destabilize Europe. In Sudan, civil war broke out on April 15, 2023, and has since turned into the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. The International Rescue Committee says 24.7 million people-more than half the country-need urgent help. Nearly 20 million are facing extreme hunger. In the Middle East, the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the October 7, 2023 attacks, has spilled into regional conflict, with Iran-backed militias striking across borders and civilians caught in the crossfire.

These aren’t isolated events. They’re symptoms of a deeper collapse: the breakdown of global leadership. The Eurasia Group calls this era a “G-Zero world,” where no country or alliance has the power or will to lead. The U.S. and China are pulling apart. Europe is fractured. The UN Security Council has issued a record 29 vetoes in just two years-the most since 1946. When institutions fail, violence fills the vacuum.

How Conflict Fuels Everything Else

Climate change is still the slow-motion disaster. 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded-1.45°C above pre-industrial levels. But when a country is at war, no one is planting trees, fixing power grids, or preparing for floods. The UN Foundation found that only 19.7% of countries have linked their climate plans to conflict prevention. In Sudan, droughts and floods have destroyed crops while bombs destroy roads and markets. The result? Food prices spike, aid convoys get blocked, and children starve.

Meanwhile, economic instability grows. The World Bank predicts global growth will slow to just 2.4% in 2025. Why? Because trade is being weaponized. The Peterson Institute estimates that if U.S.-China tensions escalate into 35% tariffs, global GDP could shrink by 1.2 percentage points. The Global Trade Alert shows harmful trade policies have tripled since 2017. Sanctions, export bans, and supply chain sabotage don’t just hurt companies-they hurt farmers, factory workers, and families.

And then there’s poverty. The International Labour Organization reports that 207 million people living in extreme poverty-$2.15 a day or less-are in conflict zones. That’s 44% of all extreme poor on Earth. In South Sudan, inflation hit 970% in December 2024. In Myanmar, 33% of the population needs emergency aid after the 2021 military coup. Conflict doesn’t just destroy buildings. It destroys livelihoods.

The Domino Effect: Polarization, Democracy, and AI

A 2024 Ipsos survey of 21,000 people in 32 countries found that 64% believe their nation is more divided than five years ago. In France, that number is 78%. This isn’t just political anger. It’s distrust in institutions, in media, in each other. And when people lose faith in democracy, authoritarian leaders rise. The Inter-Parliamentary Union found that 81% of UN member states have seen democratic backsliding since 2020. Civil liberties have declined by an average of 8.3 points on a 100-point scale.

Artificial intelligence is making this worse. Stanford’s AI Index shows harmful deepfakes jumped 51% between Q3 and Q4 of 2024. Fake videos of leaders declaring war, stealing elections, or ordering attacks are spreading faster than fact-checkers can stop them. Only 21 out of 73 countries have strong AI regulations. In places like Sudan and Ukraine, disinformation is already being used to recruit fighters, spread panic, and justify atrocities.

Health is collapsing too. UNAIDS says 1.3 million people got HIV in 2023-far above the 2025 target of under 370,000. Why? Because clinics are bombed. Medicines don’t get through. Workers flee. When conflict hits, health systems vanish.

Why Climate Change Isn’t the Top Issue-Yet

But here’s the dangerous link: 89% of experts say conflict and climate change are connected. Droughts in the Sahel lead to food riots. Floods in Pakistan displace millions. These displaced people become targets for recruiters. Conflict zones become carbon bombs-oil fields set on fire, forests burned for fuel, factories abandoned and leaking toxins. Climate change doesn’t cause war. But it makes war more likely, more deadly, and harder to stop.

What’s Being Done? (And What’s Not)

The UN Security Council can’t act when Russia and China veto every resolution. The World Health Organization can’t deliver vaccines when airports are bombed. The Paris Agreement means nothing when 71% of countries aren’t on track to meet their goals.

And the world is running out of time. The International Energy Agency says global CO2 emissions will hit 58.3 gigatons in 2025-17% above what’s needed to stay under 1.5°C. But no one’s talking about emissions when they’re counting bodies in Gaza or Khartoum.

The Bottom Line

State-based armed conflict is the spark that’s setting everything else on fire. It’s destroying food systems, breaking economies, crushing democracy, and silencing science. It’s the reason 1 in 5 people on Earth now live in a country experiencing violence or displacement.

Climate change will kill millions over decades. But right now, conflict is killing thousands every week. And if we don’t stop it, none of the other problems will matter.