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There have been over 250 major wars in the world
since World War II, in which 23 million people have been killed., tens
of millions made homeless, and countless millions injured and bereaved.
Over 37 (or 42) million people have by killed by wars in the 20th century.
Three times more people have been killed in wars in the last 90 years
than in all the previous 500.
There are over 35 major conflicts going on in
the world today. In armed conflicts since 1945, 90 per cent of casualties
have been civilians. 3 out of 4 fatalities of war are women and children.
In the wars of the last decade, more children
were killed than soldiers. In the last decade, child victims of war
include an estimated 2 million killed, 4 to 5 million disabled, 12
million left homeless, and more than 1 million orphaned.
There are 300,000 child soldiers in the world.
Landmines maim or kill approximately 26,000 civilians
every year, including 8,000 to 10,000 children. At least 75% of landmine
victims are civilians. It is estimated that there are between 60 and
70 million landmines in the ground in at least 70 countries.
More than 500 million small arms and light weapons
are in circulation around the world. In major conflicts since 1990,
they have caused 4 million deaths - about 90 per cent of them civilians,
and 80 per cent women and children.
There are approximately 30,000 nuclear warheads
in the world today.. Som 5,000 nuclear weapons are on hair-trigger
alert, ready to be launched on a few minutes notice.
Current global military spending is approximately
$800 billion per year; more than the total annual income of the poorest
45% of the global population.
Genocide and other mass murders killed more people
in the 20th century than all wars combined. Between 54 and 80 million
people have been killed in genocides in the the last century. Between
170 and 360 million people have been killed, in total, by governments
(democide) in the 20th century, apart from war.
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