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The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported Monday that the number of personnel in multilateral peace operations has decreased by over 40% since 2015.
This significant decline, from 161,509 in 2015 to 94,451 by the end of 2024, is attributed to increasing geopolitical tensions and funding shortages.
SIPRI’s data, released before the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May 29, also shows a 6% drop from 2023’s figure of 100,568 personnel.
Despite this steep reduction in staffing, the number of active peace operations remained relatively stable, with 61 missions recorded across 36 countries or territories in 2024, only two fewer than in the previous year.
Sub-Saharan Africa hosted the most missions with 21, followed by Europe with 19, the Middle East and North Africa with 14, the Americas with four, and Asia and Oceania with three.
Dr. Claudia Pfeifer Cruz, a senior SIPRI researcher, noted the increasing difficulty in agreeing on, deploying, and sustaining multilateral peace operations for both the UN and regional organizations like the African Union.
She emphasized that this trend has tangible negative consequences for civilians in conflict zones.
