From the inaugural issue of The Human Security Report:
The extent of the change in global security following the end of the Cold War has been remarkable:
° The number of armed conflicts around the world has declined by more than 40% since the early 1990s (see Figure 1.1 in Part I).
° Between 1991 (the high point for the post–World War II period) and 2004, 28 armed struggles for self-determination started or restarted, while 43 were contained or ended. There were just 25 armed secessionist conflicts under way in 2004, the lowest number since 1976.
° Notwithstanding the horrors of Rwanda, Srebrenica and elsewhere, the number of genocides and politicides plummeted by 80% between the 1988 high point and 2001 (Figure 1.11).
° International crises, often harbingers of war, declined by more than 70% between 1981 and 2001 (Figure 1.5).
° The dollar value of major international arms transfers fell by 33% between 1990 and 2003 (Figure 1.10). Global military expenditure and troop numbers declined sharply in the 1990s as well.
° The number of refugees dropped by some 45% between 1992 and 2003, as more and more wars came to an end (Figure 3.1).