This is the world's most 'peaceful' country

The report stated that India experienced an improvement of 3.5 per cent in overall peacefulness over the past year

New Delhi | July 6, 2023 12:00 PM IST

3 min read

Iceland has held this title since 2008 (Source: Pixabay)

The 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI) recently released its annual ranking of the most peaceful countries in the world. Put out by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the 17th edition of the GPI ranked 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. “This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies,” the report said.

The GPI covers 163 countries comprising 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources. It measures the state of peace across three domains:

*Societal safety and security
*Ongoing domestic and international conflict
*Militarisation

According to this year’s report, the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.42 per cent. “This is the thirteenth deterioration in peacefulness in the last fifteen years, with 84 countries improving and 79 deteriorating in peacefulness in 2022.”

As per the 2023 GIP, Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world – a title it has held since 2008. It is accompanied at the top by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria. Conversely, Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the eighth consecutive year. It is followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

India has occupied the 126th spot in the rankings, two higher than its previous position. The report stated that India experienced an improvement of 3.5 per cent in overall peacefulness over the past year, owing to improvements in violent crime, neighbouring countries’ relations, and political instability. “The improvement on the neighbouring countries relations indicator occurred because of fewer incidences of cross border violence and ceasefire violations with Pakistan and China in 2022,” according to GIP.

ALSO READ | Flying to Hong Kong? In-town check-in services are back after 3 years of COVID-19 lockdown

Further, the reduction in geopolitical tensions with China owing to the decrease in border incidents, as well as less social unrest more generally, led to an improvement in the political instability indicator in India. Among other countries, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, United States of America, and Pakistan, and have been ranked 79, 80, 107, 131, 146, respectively.

Check out the top 10 most peaceful countries here:

*Iceland
*Denmark
*Ireland
*New Zealand
*Austria
*Singapore
*Portugal
*Slovenia
*Japan
*Switzerland

Story continues below this ad

The report further noted that “over the last 15 years, the world has become less peaceful, with the average country score deteriorating by five per cent”.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!

From the homepage