Landmines and other explosive remnants of war killed or injured at least 6,279 people in 2024, nine in ten of them civilians, while clearance falls short of the 2025 goal, support for survivors shrinks and five European countries have left the treaty that bans antipersonnel mines.
Written from the sources listed below, not independently peer-reviewed.
Of the people killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2024 whose status was known, what share were civilians?
6,279
People killed or injured
Recorded casualties of landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2024 in 52 countries and areas: 1,945 killed, 4,325 injured and nine whose survival is unknown. The highest annual total since 2020; the true number is higher.
Data year 2024. Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025
57
States and areas with antipersonnel mines
At least 57 states and other areas have known antipersonnel mine contamination, including 32 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty with clearance deadlines, 22 states not party and three other areas.
Data year 2025. Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025
US$36.4 million
International funding for victim assistance
Donor funding dedicated to assisting survivors in 2024, 23% less than in 2023 and just 5% of all international mine action funding. Two-thirds went to Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
Data year 2024. Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025
Unit: people killed or injured
Global totals from the Landmine Monitor as reported by Humanity & Inclusion (HI). The Monitor describes 2024 as the highest year since 2020 and casualties as persistently high for a decade, but this source gives no figures for earlier years, so only two points are shown. Totals are minimums and earlier years are sometimes revised. Preliminary 2025 data are incomplete and are not shown.
Under the commitment made at their 2014 review conference in Maputo, States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty aimed to complete their clearance obligations by 2025. The Landmine Monitor reports that the goal has not been met: only five States Parties have finished clearance since 2014, and 26 of the 32 States Parties that still have deadlines have been working on clearance for more than 20 years. As of October 2025, 13 States Parties had requested more time. In total 31 States Parties have declared all antipersonnel mines cleared from their territory, most recently Oman in 2025. Under SDG target 16.1, which calls for reducing all forms of violence and related deaths everywhere, the rise in casualties to the highest level since 2020 points in the wrong direction.
Civilians made up 90% of the 2024 casualties whose status was known (5,385 people), and children made up 46% of the civilian casualties whose age was recorded (1,701 children).
Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025Casualties are concentrated in countries at war or recovering from it. Myanmar recorded 2,029 casualties in 2024, double its 2023 figure, followed by Syria with 1,015, Afghanistan with 624 and Ukraine with 293.
Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025Preliminary data for 2025 from 40 countries put Syria first, with at least 1,602 casualties, followed by Myanmar with 745. Where status was recorded, 95% of casualties were civilians, and among adults whose sex was recorded, 84% were men.
Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2026Support does not always follow need. Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Niger received little or no international mine action funding in 2024, while Ukraine received US$252.4 million, a third of the total.
Source: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2025Instead of one “percent solved” score, DO GOOD rates three separate dimensions. A problem can have mature solutions that still reach too few people. These ratings are an editorial reading of the sources on this page, not a measured index.
Has the situation improved in the real world?
LowRecorded casualties rose to 6,279 in 2024, the highest since 2020, and casualties from manufactured antipersonnel mines tripled between 2020 and 2024. At least 57 states and areas remain contaminated.
How mature and validated are the available solutions?
HighSurvey, clearance, risk education, stockpile destruction and victim assistance are long-established. 94 States Parties have destroyed over 55 million stockpiled mines, and 31 have declared their territory cleared of antipersonnel mines.
How widely are effective solutions actually used?
ModerateMine action funding reached US$1.07 billion in 2024 and more than half of affected States Parties reduced their contamination. But victim assistance received just 5% of international funding, some countries received almost nothing, and nine states with deadlines released no land or did not report.
The Monitor's annual data are consistent and long-running, but casualties are under-reported in many countries, the 2025 figure for Myanmar relies on a single source, and the reasons for a sharp drop in cleared area in 2024 are not explained by the data.
Casualties rose in 2024 to the highest level since 2020, new mines are being laid in several conflicts, donor funding for victim assistance fell by 23% in 2024 and US funding was frozen in 2025. Five countries left the Mine Ban Treaty in 2025 and 2026, though Lebanon joined in 2026.
Landmines and the explosive remnants left behind by wars keep killing and injuring people long after the fighting has moved on or ended. The Landmine Monitor recorded at least 6,279 casualties in 2024 in 52 countries and areas: 1,945 people were killed and 4,325 injured. It was the highest annual total since 2020. Myanmar, where government forces and armed groups continue to lay mines, recorded the most casualties for the second year in a row, followed by Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Antipersonnel mine contamination is known in at least 57 states and other areas, and seven countries, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq and Ukraine, are massively contaminated. The States Parties' goal of finishing clearance by 2025 was missed.
Almost all of those harmed are civilians, and many are children. Men and boys face the greatest exposure, mostly through the work they do to earn a living, and families returning home after conflict, as in Syria, walk into land that has not been checked. Many survivors live with amputations and other lasting injuries, yet rehabilitation, psychological support and income help remain scarce, and international funding for victim assistance fell by almost a quarter in 2024. At the same time the ban itself is under strain. Russia and Myanmar use antipersonnel mines widely, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland withdrew from the Mine Ban Treaty in 2025 and early 2026, and the United States reversed its policy in December 2025 to authorise landmine use worldwide. Lebanon joined in May 2026, bringing the treaty to 162 States Parties.
Most global figures come from the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, a civil-society research initiative whose 2025 report was its 27th annual edition. It draws on government reports, UN agencies, conflict databases and its own research. Its main measures are:
Casualties
People killed or injured in a given year by landmines, including improvised mines that are set off by the victim, and by explosive remnants of war such as unexploded or abandoned munitions. Harm from active attacks, such as airstrikes or shelling, is not included. All figures are minimums, because many incidents in remote or conflict areas are never reported.
Contamination
States and other areas with land that is known or suspected to contain antipersonnel mines. States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty must clear all mined areas under their control by a deadline under Article 5 of the treaty and may request extensions.
Land release
Land returned to safe use in a year. It is released through non-technical survey (showing that suspected land is not actually dangerous), technical survey and full clearance. Most land is released by survey rather than clearance, so area released and area cleared are different measures.
Mine action funding
Money spent on survey and clearance, risk education, victim assistance, capacity-building and related work. The Monitor counts international donor funding and the national budgets that affected states report spending on their own programmes.
What works
The 1997 treaty bans the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. 94 States Parties have destroyed their stockpiles, eliminating more than 55 million mines, and two small island states joined in 2025.
Limits
Countries that still produce or keep the capacity to produce mines, including China, India and Russia, have not joined, and Russia and Myanmar use antipersonnel mines widely. Greece and Ukraine have missed their deadlines to destroy stockpiles, and five European States Parties withdrew in 2025 and 2026.
What works
In 2024 States Parties released 1,114.82 km² of land and destroyed at least 105,640 antipersonnel mines. Most land (80%) was released through non-technical survey, which avoids clearing land that turns out to be safe, so communities can farm, build and return home sooner.
Limits
The area actually cleared fell sharply compared with the previous two years without a clear explanation, insecurity blocks work in several countries, and nine states with deadlines released no land or did not report. Clearance is slow and costly where contamination is large.
What works
Teaching people to recognise dangerous areas and report suspicious items reduces accidents while clearance is still under way. Nearly all States Parties with clearance deadlines ran risk education in 2024, and 19 reported data broken down by sex and age, up from 8 in 2019.
Limits
Many people enter contaminated land because they need to earn a living, which awareness alone does not change. Only seven of the states that requested extensions in 2024 and 2025 included a multi-year risk education plan.
What works
Emergency care, rehabilitation, prosthetics and other assistive products, psychological support and help with income and inclusion allow survivors to recover and take part in community life. Fifteen countries have integrated psychological support into existing services, and survivors took part in coordination in 15 States Parties.
Limits
Assistance often falls short of needs. International funding fell to US$36.4 million in 2024, health systems in Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and other countries were badly disrupted, and rising numbers of amputations in Palestine and Ukraine strain rehabilitation services.
What works
Global mine action funding reached US$1.07 billion in 2024, the second year above US$1 billion. Twenty-six affected states contributed US$306.3 million from their own budgets, more than 30% of the total.
Limits
International funding fell 5% in 2024 and is concentrated: the top five donors gave 62%, and Ukraine received a third. The largest donor, the United States, froze foreign aid in early 2025 and ended several programmes, and only 2% of international funding went directly to national NGOs.
Promising, but not proven at scale. The stage shows how far each approach has come; it is not a recommendation.
In 2025 a working group chaired by Norway began studying a voluntary trust fund to help States Parties meet their clearance obligations, especially those that receive little donor support. It is at the study stage and has not yet disbursed funds.
Tajikistan has expanded access to assistive products for survivors through community-based "one-stop shop" centres. Whether the model can be replicated in countries with weaker health systems has not been shown.
More States Parties now report casualty and risk education data by sex and age, 19 in 2024 compared with 8 in 2019. This helps target risk education at the men and boys most exposed through work and at children, but many countries still do not report it.
Rather than building separate programmes, 15 countries have added mental health and psychosocial support for survivors to existing health or community services. Coverage remains limited and support declined in South Sudan in 2024.
Implementation gap
The United States, the largest mine action donor, froze foreign assistance in early 2025 and then ended several humanitarian mine action programmes. Programmes have shut down in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Colombia, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe.
Implementation gap
Victim assistance received only 5% of international mine action funding in 2024, and this share fell by 23% in one year. Survivors need support for decades, but rehabilitation in many affected countries depends on international organisations.
Coordination gap
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland withdrew from the Mine Ban Treaty, and Finland, Lithuania and Poland plan to start producing mines again. Ukraine told the treaty in 2025 that it would suspend its operation, which the treaty does not allow, and the States Parties rejected this in December 2025.
Coordination gap
Mines continue to be laid in Myanmar, Ukraine and elsewhere, and non-state armed groups used antipersonnel mines in 10 States Parties and three other states between mid-2024 and October 2025. The Monitor warns that without more funding and compliance, contamination will grow faster than the response.
Coordination gap
International NGOs received 67% of international mine action funding in 2024 and national NGOs only 2% directly. This may limit the long-term national capacity needed to manage residual contamination after international operators leave.
Knowledge gap
Casualties are under-reported in many countries, figures for Myanmar depend on a single source, and states did not give a satisfactory explanation for why clearance output dropped in 2024. Poor data make it hard to plan clearance or estimate how many survivors need help.
Unresolved questions, not vetted breakthroughs. Answering any of them would change what is possible.
Total land released rose in 2024 while the area actually cleared dropped sharply. How much of this is due to funding, insecurity, reporting practices or a shift towards survey, and what does it mean for future deadlines?
There is no reliable global count of people living with injuries from mines and explosive remnants, or of their needs for rehabilitation, mental health care and income. How can countries build this evidence without new large surveys?
Will the 2025 and 2026 withdrawals, and the US policy change, lead other states to use, produce or stockpile antipersonnel mines again, or will the treaty continue to shape behaviour, including among states not party?
Men and boys are most exposed through livelihood activities and economically driven risk-taking. Which combinations of risk education, livelihood support and prioritised clearance actually lower accident rates, and how should they be evaluated?
If you donate, choose organisations that work under national mine action authorities, publish audited accounts and report results, and consider those that fund rehabilitation and inclusion for survivors, the most underfunded part of mine action.
In countries affected by conflict, stay on roads and paths in common use, respect warning signs and local advice, and never touch or pick up unfamiliar objects. Report them to local authorities instead.
Find out whether your country is party to the Mine Ban Treaty, whether it keeps its commitments, and whether it funds clearance and victim assistance. Raise these questions with your elected representatives.
Many survivors live with disabilities. Supporting accessible workplaces, services and public spaces in your own community helps all people with disabilities, including survivors of conflict.
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Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (ICBL-CMC), published 2025
The 27th annual Landmine Monitor (released 1 December 2025, data for 2024 with updates to October 2025): casualties, contamination, land release, clearance deadlines, risk education, victim assistance, mine action funding, stockpiles, use, production and treaty status.
Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (ICBL-CMC), published 2026
June 2026 briefing with incomplete 2025 casualty data from 40 countries: country totals, civilian and child shares, sex of adult casualties and data caveats. Full 2025 figures are due in Landmine Monitor 2026.
UN News, published 2025
UN report on the launch of Landmine Monitor 2025 at UN Geneva: casualties, share of children in Afghanistan, massively contaminated states, Oman's completion, US funding freeze and programme closures.
Arms Control Association, Arms Control Today, published 2026
January 2026 report on the five withdrawals (instruments deposited June to August 2025, six-month notice), Baltic exits completed in December 2025, Ukraine's attempted suspension, plans for new production and the December 2025 Meeting of States Parties.
International Campaign to Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC), published 2026
May 2026 statement: Lebanon's accession on 1 May 2026 as the 162nd State Party (entry into force 1 November 2026) after five European withdrawals, and the December 2025 US policy reversal on landmine use.
Humanity & Inclusion (HI), published 2025
Humanity & Inclusion summarising Landmine Monitor 2025: 5,757 casualties in 2023 and 6,279 in 2024, civilian and child shares and funding trends.
DO GOOD International (2026). Clearing Landmines and Explosive Remnants. Global Challenges. Updated October 15, 2026. https://www.dogood.world/challenges/landmines
For figures, please cite the original sources listed above.