MAPPED: The countries most likely to spark World War Three
RUSSIA, China and the US are among a list of countries named as most likely to spark a devastating global conflict.
The world has become a more dangerous place
Pakistan, North Korea and Syria also make the cut of countries that could potentially trigger a clash more catastrophic than the Second World War.
Recent events in Ukraine and Syria have heightened tensions between Moscow and Nato, the US and other regional armed groups.
Many observers believe if World War Three was to break out in the near future, Russia would be a primary agent in the conflict.
Also high on the list of unpredictable superpowers is China.
The billion-strong Asian nation has made repeated claims to new territory in the South China Sea, building islands seemingly from nowhere.
Beijing's expansionist policy has brought it into direct confrontation with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the US and Australia.
Map of the countries most likely to spark WW3
Disputes with neighbouring Taiwan are also a cause for concern among analysts who fear an escalation of already fraught relations.
The planet's third great military superpower is the US, which has been involved in nine separate conflicts in the last 20 years.
Under Barack Obama, the number of American troops stationed in foreign countries has fallen.
Two thousands miles away, nuclear-warhead owning Pakistan and India have been engaged in fierce territorial disputes for decades.
The neighbouring rivals, which have officially been at relative peace since signing the 1999 Lahore Declaration, remain deeply split over Kashmir.
Last, but by no means least, is North Korea - the pariah state that last month successfully tested another hydrogen bomb.
Threats of war from Pyongyang aimed at South Korea and the US have so far been empty, but its ties with China and Russia and aggressive rhetoric and actions suggest if a global war were to erupt in the 21st century, North Korea could well be the cause of it.