Composed of military, police and civilians, peacekeepers carry out missions around the globe
The number of international members in UN (United Nations) multilateral peace operations has decreased by almost half since 2016. The data is from one of the (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), released this Monday (May 25, 2026).
The report was released days before the United Nations International Day of Peacekeepers, on May 29th.
As of December 31, 2025, only 78,633 international members were mobilized in peacekeeping operations. The number is 49% lower than that recorded in 2016, when 153,056 people were part of the operations. The 2025 numbers are the lowest since the year 2000.
Second the director of Sipri’s Peace Operations and Conflict Management Program, Jaïr van der Lijn, the reduction in troops could lead to “a drastic weakening of multilateral conflict management and the almost complete marginalization of institutions such as the United Nations”.
Van der Lijn also stated that the scenario could result in more conflicts and more severe impacts on civilians. The statement was published in the institute’s official statement on the report.
peace missions
The study shows that 58 multilateral peace operations were active in 2025, 3 fewer than in 2024.
The distribution of missions is:
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 18
- Europa: 18
- Middle East and North Africa: 14
- Americas: 5
- Asia: 3
Throughout 2025, 4 missions were closed:
- MSS (Haiti);
- PRCIO (Azerbaijan/Nagorno-Karabakh);
- SAMIDRC (Democratic Republic of Congo);
- Unami (Iraq).
Another 2 operations were created:
- Aussom (Somalia);
- GSF (Haiti).
The region most affected by the reduction in personnel was Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of mission members fell by 21%.
The main reasons given for the reduction in troops were the financial crisis and the increase in geopolitical tensions between member countries.
According to the report, the financial crisis was caused by the delay or non-payment of contributions by major UN financiers, which forced the organization to reduce spending and cut staff in several operations.
In the 2024-2025 budget cycle, the UN faced a deficit of approximately US$2 billion in operations. more than 35% of the planned budget. As a result, there was a 15% reduction in expenses and cuts of around 25% in uniformed personnel.
The document also states that political disputes between powers made negotiations at the UN Security Council difficult. The United States is cited as one of the main actors pushing for funding cuts and closure of peacekeeping missions.
