Global cooperation declined sharply, as conflicts escalated in many parts of the world. The peace and security pillar examines the impact of global cooperation in preventing and resolving conflicts. The focus is on preventing death and ameliorating the long-term negative implications of conflict through the commitment to multilateral peacekeeping operations and international stabilization efforts. The barometer shows peace and security cooperation is under the greatest strain of all five pillars, with almost every metric in 2024 below pre-pandemic levels (Figure 12). The decline of this pillar since the late 2010s reflects an intensification of conflict and attendant harm to individuals. Global multilateralism has struggled in its role as peacekeeper, although regional formats of cooperation have picked up the mantle in some cases. 0.600.650.700.750.800.850.900.951.001.051.10 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), % Peace and security index Fatalities from conﬂicts1* Forcibly displaced people1* Conﬂicts1 Ratio of multilateral peacekeeping operations-to-conﬂicts Signiﬁcant cyber incidents1* Ratio of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions-to-conﬂicts -25 -5 0 5 -10 10 -15 -20 2012–20 2020–23 2023–24Peace and security eroded with declines across most metrics FIGURE 12 1. Metrics were inverted given negative connotation; *outcome metrics. Note: Fatalities from conflicts, conflicts are lagging metrics. Sources: United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR); UPPSALA; Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI); United Nations Security Council (UNSC); McKinsey & Company analysis.Pillar 5 Peace and security In 2024, the number of conflicts continued to increase,59 marked by, among others, the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, intensified fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and civil wars in Sudan and Myanmar. Reported battle-related deaths stayed near 2023 levels, with the Russia–Ukraine conflict making up over 40% of the total. The number of forcibly displaced people likewise continued its growth, reaching a record 123 million.60 The war in Sudan alone displaced approximately 11.5 million people.61 Beyond the kinetic sphere of conflict, other dimensions also worsened. Cyberattacks intensified, with incidents surging across Asia,62 The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 24