Peacekeeping troop numbers fall to lowest in at least 25 years, SIPRI says

PARIS — The number of military personnel engaged in peacekeeping operations around the world fell to the lowest in at least a quarter century in 2025, and geopolitical tension and lack of funding are jeopardizing the viability of multilateral peacekeeping, according to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.The number of international personnel deployed for peace operations fell to 78,633 at the end of December, down 17% from a year earlier, SIPRI said in a report published Monday. The number is down 49% from the end of 2016, the Swedish institute said.Cuts in deployed personnel were mainly caused by a funding crisis in the United Nations due to delayed or unpaid contributions from major donors, according to SIPRI. That prompted an abrupt reduction on spending on peace operations, including by reducing personnel in several major operations, the researchers said.“If things continue in this way, we could see a dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict management and the near-complete sidelining of institutions like the United Nations, due to a perfect storm of funding, political and geopolitical factors,” said Jaïr van der Lijn, director of the peace operations and conflict management program at SIPRI.“The result is likely to be more conflicts, and these conflicts are likely to have even graver impacts on civilians as states abandon long-established norms.”Multilateral conflict management and peace operations face “severe pressure,” according to SIPRI. Russia’s involvement in conflicts in Africa is hurting security governance there, the United States under President Donald Trump are undermining multilateralism, and China and Europe are either unwilling or unable to take on the task of sustaining the multilateral system, SIPRI said.The U.S. took “significant action” in 2025 to withdraw from, defund or challenge various UN bodies, which included seeking to end UN peacekeeping operations including the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or Unifil, th