War & International Conflict

Fifteen years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the American public is divided over whether using military force was the right decision.

Nearly 13 million Syrians are displaced after seven years of conflict in their country. No nation in recent decades has had such a large percentage of its population displaced.

A median of 53% in five Middle Eastern and North African countries also see Iran playing a more important role, but fewer say Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have gained influence.

Seventy years since the partition of India, read about attitudes in India on a range of subjects, including Pakistan and the handling of the Kashmir dispute.

Half of Americans say using military force against countries that may seriously threaten the U.S. – but have not attacked it – can often or sometimes be justified.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

Since the end of World War II, there have been 225 successful coups (counting the events in Zimbabwe) in countries with populations greater than 500,000, according to the Center for Systemic Peace, which maintains extensive datasets on various forms of armed conflict and political violence. Most coups occurred during the height of the Cold War, from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Just 8% of Russians believe the Russian Revolution was the country's most important event of the past century. A 34% plurality says it was World War II.

The resettlement of refugees in the U.S. has been fairly consistent across the country since 2002, with no state resettling a majority of them. In fiscal year 2017, no state resettled more than 10% of the 53,716 refugees the nation admitted that year.

In all, more than half a million asylum seekers from Syria during the 2015-16 migration surge had received permission to stay in Europe as of Dec. 31, 2016.