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, the SIPRI report said.
SIPRI said the UN peacekeeping budget faced a shortfall of $2 billion at the start of July 2025, and the budget approved by the UN General Assembly for the 2025-2026 period was cut to $5.38 billion, the lowest in at least a decade.
While the United Nations was the main organizer of multinational peacekeeping operations in 2025, accounting for 18 operations and 67% of the deployed personnel, most peacekeeping efforts were led by regional organizations and alliances, accounting for 34 operations.
“Regional organizations lack key capabilities when it comes to successful, integrated peace-building, while they are also plagued by funding shortfalls and inability to reach agreement,” said Claudia Pfeifer Cruz, senior researcher in the peace operations and conflict management program. “As UN-led conflict management recedes, it is leaving a growing gap that alternative models are unable to fill.”
Sub-Saharan Africa hosted 70% of deployed peacekeeping personnel last year, with the Middle East and North Africa accounting for 15% and Europe for 12%, SIPRI said. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, or Minusca, and the UN Mission in South Sudan, or Unmiss, were the two biggest multilateral peace operations last year.
The 10 top contributors of both military and police personnel to multilateral peace operations were all countries in the Global South, according to the SIPRI data. The largest contributions of military personnel came mainly from sub Saharan Africa or South Asia, led by Uganda with 4,657 troops and followed by Nepal, Bangladesh and India, which each supplied more than 4,000 troops.
The funding shortfall, lower budget and disagreement over the decision to close Unifil by the end of December 2026 “indicate a progressively smaller role for the UN in conflict management,” SIPRI said. The institute noted the U.S. demanded the termination of Unifil despite “frequent violations” of a 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
“Financial constraints clearly accelerated the personnel reductions but were not the only factor,” the institute wrote in its report. “As the debate over UNIFIL illustrates, geopolitical divisions and increasingly difficult negotiations in the Security Council have made it harder to sustain existing operations or build support for new ones.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.