When people search for countries still at war today, the answer can look much longer than it really is.
There are dozens of armed conflicts happening around the world in 2026. But many are civil wars, insurgencies, terrorism related conflicts or fighting between governments and armed groups within the same country.
This list takes a narrower approach.
We are looking mainly at countries involved in international armed conflict, where military force is being used across national borders. Civil wars such as Sudan and Myanmar are not included.
That distinction matters because wars between countries have historically been much less common than wars within countries. Yet that is starting to change.
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program reported that the number of interstate conflicts doubled from two in 2023 to eight in 2025, the highest number recorded since its data series began in 1946.
So which countries are still at war today?
The clearest answer is Russia and Ukraine.
Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. More than four years later, the war remains active.
Russian and Ukrainian forces continue fighting across a long frontline, particularly in eastern Ukraine. Both countries have also expanded the use of long range drones and missiles far beyond frontline areas.
On 30 September 2026, Russia launched another major drone and missile assault against Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukraine has simultaneously continued operations against targets inside Russian controlled territory and Russia itself.
Peace negotiations have taken place repeatedly, but no comprehensive ceasefire has ended the war.
The Council on Foreign Relations continues to classify the Russia Ukraine conflict as an interstate war.
For anyone asking which countries are actively fighting a conventional war today, Russia and Ukraine remain the most straightforward example.
A conflict receiving far less international attention is the rapidly worsening relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The issue centres partly on militant groups operating near the countries’ 2,600 kilometre border.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants, particularly Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, to operate from Afghan territory. Afghanistan denies the accusation.
What makes the situation different from a normal insurgency is that Pakistani military forces have repeatedly struck targets inside Afghanistan.
In September 2026, Pakistan carried out several rounds of airstrikes inside Afghan territory. Reuters reported on 25 September that Pakistan’s air force had struck ten locations in Afghanistan in its second round of strikes within four days.
Earlier in the year, fighting included artillery, drones and airstrikes, with previous ceasefire attempts failing to resolve the underlying dispute.
The Council on Foreign Relations now categorises the Afghanistan Pakistan conflict as an interstate war as well as a terrorism related conflict.
It is one of the most important international conflicts to watch because both countries have already demonstrated a willingness to use military force across the border.
Another major conflict changed dramatically in 2026.
In February, Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran, targeting military and nuclear infrastructure.
Iran responded, creating a direct interstate conflict involving some of the Middle East’s largest military powers.
Large scale fighting later declined following a Pakistan mediated ceasefire and a June memorandum of understanding. But that did not produce a final peace agreement.
The Council on Foreign Relations reported in September that the sides had continued exchanging strikes over alleged violations and classified the conflict as an interstate war with a worsening status.
Diplomatic negotiations are still taking place. On 30 September, Reuters reported that Iran had received a US response through Qatari mediators to a proposed seven day confidence building arrangement.
So is Iran still at war today?
The answer requires some qualification.
The intense fighting seen earlier in 2026 has reduced significantly, but there is still no durable settlement and the wider conflict remains unresolved. It is better described as an ongoing interstate conflict under an unstable ceasefire framework rather than continuous full scale warfare.
Israel and Lebanon represent another complicated case.
The fighting began primarily between Israel and Hezbollah rather than between the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
However, the conflict became increasingly international when Israeli forces entered Lebanese territory.
The Council on Foreign Relations says a major Israeli ground operation began in March 2026 following years of cross border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel.
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon have since produced a framework under which Israeli forces would gradually withdraw while Lebanese authorities attempt to disarm Hezbollah and expand Lebanese army control in the south.
But that process remains incomplete.
Reuters reported in September that tensions along the border remained high and Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon were continuing while diplomats worked on security arrangements.
This is therefore not a simple country versus country war. Hezbollah remains one of the main armed actors.
But because Israeli military forces are operating inside another sovereign country and the Lebanese government is directly involved in negotiations over their withdrawal, it remains an international armed conflict.
India and Pakistan should not be described in the same way as Russia and Ukraine right now.
The two nuclear armed countries fought their most serious military confrontation in years following an attack in Indian administered Kashmir in April 2025.
India and Pakistan subsequently exchanged military strikes.
However, a ceasefire agreed in May has continued to hold.
The Council on Foreign Relations still tracks the dispute under its interstate war category, but its August 2026 assessment noted that the ceasefire remained in place.
So India and Pakistan remain highly tense military rivals, but describing them as actively fighting a war today would overstate the current situation.
Then there is the unusual case of North Korea and South Korea.
Large scale fighting in the Korean War stopped in 1953 with an armistice rather than a comprehensive peace treaty.
That is why the Korean Peninsula is still commonly described as being technically at war.
The situation should not be confused with an active battlefield.
North and South Korea are not currently fighting a conventional war comparable with Russia and Ukraine. But military tensions remain serious, and the Council on Foreign Relations continues to classify the confrontation under its interstate war category.
As of 1 October 2026, the clearest major international war remains Russia against Ukraine.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are also engaged in renewed direct military confrontation.
Iran’s conflict with Israel and the United States remains unresolved despite attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire.
Israel’s military presence and continuing strikes in Lebanon keep that conflict international, although Hezbollah rather than the Lebanese government remains a central combatant.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are currently under a ceasefire, while North and South Korea represent the unusual case of countries separated by an armistice without a comprehensive peace settlement.
The bigger change is the direction of global conflict.
For decades, most modern wars were internal conflicts. Recent data suggests direct confrontation between states is becoming more common again.
That makes the question of which countries are still at war today increasingly important, because the answer is no longer limited to one or two isolated conflicts.
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