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Global Peace Index
Measures the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness

The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) publishes the Global Peace Index (GPI), ranking 163 states by their levels of peacefulness. Developed with peace experts and data from the Economist Intelligence Unit, the GPI was launched in 2007 by Steve Killelea and endorsed by figures like Kofi Annan and the Dalai Lama. The 2024 report lists Iceland, New Zealand, and Canada among the most peaceful countries, while Yemen, Ukraine, and Russia rank lowest. The GPI reveals a 6% global decline in peace over 16 years, reflecting increasing violence and inequality in safety worldwide.

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Indicators of peacefulness

In 2017, 23 indicators were used to establish peacefulness scores for each country. The indicators were originally selected with the assistance of an expert panel in 2007 and are reviewed by the expert panel on an annual basis. The scores for each indicator are normalised on a scale of 1–5, whereby qualitative indicators are banded into five groupings, and quantitative ones are scored from 1–5, to the third decimal point. A table of the indicators is below.8 In the table, UCDP stands for the Uppsala Conflict Data Program maintained by the University of Uppsala in Sweden, EIU for The Economist Intelligence Unit, UNSCT for the United Nations Survey of Criminal Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, ICPS is the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College London, IISS for the International Institute for Strategic Studies publication The Military Balance, and SIPRI for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Arms Transfers Database.

IndicatorSourceCoding
1Number and duration of internal conflicts9UCDP, IEPTotal number
2Number of deaths from external organized conflictUCDP Armed Conflict DatasetTotal number
3Number of deaths from internal organized conflictInternational Institute for Strategic Studies, Armed Conflict DatabaseTotal number
4Number, duration, and role in external conflictsUCDP Battle-related Deaths Dataset, IEPTotal number
5Intensity of organized internal conflictEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
6Relations with neighbouring countriesEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
7Level of perceived criminality in societyEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
8Number of refugees and displaced persons as percentage of populationUNHCR and IDMCRefugee population by country or territory of origin, plus the number of a country's internally displaced people (IDP's) as a percentage of the country's total population
9Political instabilityEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
10Impact of terrorismGlobal Terrorism Index (IEP)Quantitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
11Political terrorAmnesty International and US State DepartmentQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
12Number of homicides per 100,000 peopleUNODC Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (CTS); EIU estimatesTotal number
13Level of violent crimeEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
14Likelihood of violent demonstrationsEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5
15Number of jailed persons per 100,000 peopleWorld Prison Brief, Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of LondonTotal number
16Number of internal security officers and police per 100,000 peopleUNODC CTS; EIU estimatesTotal number; Civil police force distinct from national guards or local militia10
17Military expenditure as a percentage of GDPThe Military Balance and IISSCash outlays of central or federal government to meet costs of national armed forces, as a percentage of GDP, scores from 1 to 5 based on percentages11
18Number of armed-services personnel per 100,000The Military Balance and IISSAll full-time active armed-services personnel
19Volume of transfers of major conventional weapons as recipient (imports) per 100,000 peopleSIPRI Arms Transfers DatabaseImports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people12
20Volume of transfers of major conventional weapons as supplier (exports) per 100,000 peopleSIPRI Arms Transfers DatabaseExports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people
21Financial contribution to UN peacekeeping missionsUnited Nations Committee on Contributions and IEPPercentage of countries' "outstanding payments versus their annual assessment to the budget of the current peacekeeping missions" over an average of three years, scored from 1–5 scale based on percentage of promised contributions met
22Nuclear and heavy weapons capabilityThe Military Balance, IISS, SIPRI, UN Register of Conventional Arms and IEP1–5 scale based on accumulated points; 1 point per armoured vehicle and artillery pieces, 5 points per tank, 20 points per combat aircraft, 100 points per warship, 1000 points for aircraft carrier and nuclear submarine13
23Ease of access to small arms and light weaponsEIUQualitative scale, ranked 1 to 5

Indicators not already ranked on a 1 to 5 scale were converted by using the following formula: x = [x - min(x)] / [max(x) - min(x)], where max(x) and min(x) are the highest and lowest values for that indicator of the countries ranked in the index. The 0 to 1 scores that resulted were then converted to the 1 to 5 scale. Individual indicators were then weighted according to the expert panel's judgment of their importance. The scores were then tabulated into two weighted sub-indices: internal peace, weighted at 60% of a country's final score, and external peace, weighted at 40% of a country's final score. "Negative Peace", defined as the absence of violence or of the fear of violence, is used as the definition of peace to create the Global Peace Index. An additional aim of the GPI database is to facilitate deeper study of the concept of positive peace, or those attitudes, institutions, and structures that drive peacefulness in society. The GPI also examines relationships between peace and reliable international measures, including democracy and transparency, education and material well-being. As such, it seeks to understand the relative importance of a range of potential determinants, or "drivers", which may influence the nurturing of peaceful societies, both internally and externally.14

Statistical analysis is applied to GPI data to uncover specific conditions conducive of peace. Researchers have determined that Positive Peace, which includes the attitudes, institutions, and structures that pre-empt conflict and facilitate functional societies, is the main driver of peace. The eight pillars of positive peace are well-functioning government, sound business environment, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighbours, free flow of information, high levels of human capital, low levels of corruption, and equitable distribution of resources. Well-functioning government, low levels of corruption, acceptance of the rights of others, and good relations with neighbours are more important in countries suffering from high levels of violence. Free flow of information and sound business environment become more important when a country is approaching the global average level of peacefulness, also described as the Mid-Peace level. Low levels of corruption is the only Pillar that is strongly significant across all three levels of peacefulness. This suggests it is an important transformational factor at all stages of a nation's development.

Global Peace Index ranking

Legend
  •   Very high impact
  •   High impact
  •   Medium impact
  •   Low impact
  •   Very low impact
2024 Global Peace Index Ranking15
RankCountryScoreChange
1 Iceland1.112
2 Ireland1.303
3 Austria1.313 1
4 New Zealand1.323 1
5 Singapore1.339 3
6  Switzerland1.35 3
7 Portugal1.372 1
8 Denmark1.382 3
9 Slovenia1.395 2
10 Malaysia1.427 2
11 Canada1.449 1
12 Czech Republic1.459 1
13 Finland1.474 2
14 Hungary1.502 4
15 Croatia1.504 1
16 Belgium1.51 2
17 Japan1.525 4
18 Netherlands1.527 1
19 Australia1.536 2
20 Germany1.542 4
21 Bhutan1.564 3
22 Mauritius1.577
23 Spain1.597 7
24 Estonia1.615 3
25 Kuwait1.622 1
26 Bulgaria1.629 5
27 Slovakia1.634 2
28 Norway1.638 5
29 Qatar1.656 9
30 Latvia1.661 3
31 Lithuania1.672 6
32 Poland1.678 3
33 Italy1.692
34 United Kingdom1.703 2
35 Montenegro1.746 5
36 Romania1.755 1
37 Oman1.761 4
38 North Macedonia1.764 2
39 Sweden1.782 5
40 Greece1.793 17
41 Vietnam1.802 3
42 Albania1.809 3
43 Taiwan1.818 1
44 Madagascar1.838 2
45 Mongolia1.845
46 South Korea1.848 6
47 Argentina1.855 2
48 Indonesia1.857 4
49 Laos1.861 1
50 Botswana1.863 3
51 East Timor1.882 3
52 Uruguay1.893 3
53 United Arab Emirates1.897 31
54 Serbia1.93 8
55 Ghana1.938 5
56 Kosovo1.945 3
57 Zambia1.948 2
58 Costa Rica1.95 5
59 Kazakhstan1.954 19
60 Uzbekistan1.957 15
61 Bosnia and Herzegovina1.961 5
62 Namibia1.972 1
63 Moldova1.976 2
64 Chile1.978 10
65 Tanzania1.987 11
66 Sierra Leone1.993 23
67 Jordan1.998 9
68 Bolivia2.009 2
69 Liberia2.025 5
70 Cambodia2.028 6
71 Tajikistan2.035 19
72 Angola2.043 19
73 Paraguay2.044 4
74 Tunisia2.044 6
75 Thailand2.048 11
76 Armenia2.052 2
77 Kyrgyzstan2.053 18
78 Morocco2.054 14
79 Malawi2.063 12
80   Nepal2.069 12
81 Bahrain2.072 16
82 The Gambia2.079 13
83 Turkmenistan2.079 2
84 Senegal2.084 15
85 Guinea-Bissau2.085 12
86 France2.088 14
87 Trinidad and Tobago2.092 10
88 China2.101 6
89 Cyprus2.101 5
90 Algeria2.11 2
91 Jamaica2.119 2
92 Rwanda2.12 4
93 Bangladesh2.126 8
94 Equatorial Guinea2.132 14
95 Mauritania2.136 6
96 Panama2.14 9
97 Dominican Republic2.157 5
98 Cuba2.16
99 Peru2.179 5
100 Georgia2.195 6
101 Sri Lanka2.195 1
102 Saudi Arabia2.206 5
103 Eswatini2.209 3
104 Philippines2.21 4
105 Egypt2.212 4
106 Azerbaijan2.248 3
107 El Salvador2.25 21
108 Mozambique2.25 3
109 Ivory Coast2.255 9
110 Republic of the Congo2.261 6
111 Guyana2.286 1
112 Belarus2.291 3
113 Nicaragua2.295 12
114 Benin2.306 1
115 Papua New Guinea2.315 10
116 India2.319 5
117 Guatemala2.332
118 Gabon2.372 18
119 Djibouti2.374 8
120 Togo2.381 2
121 Zimbabwe2.396 1
122 Kenya2.409 3
123 Honduras2.415 1
124 Guinea2.423 2
125 Lesotho2.461 3
126 Uganda2.477 3
127 South Africa2.507 2
128 Libya2.528 4
129 Burundi2.567 2
130 Ecuador2.572 16
131 Brazil2.589
132 United States2.622 2
133 Iran2.682 10
134 Lebanon2.693 1
135 Chad2.704 5
136 Eritrea2.748 5
137 Cameroon2.773 1
138 Mexico2.778 1
139 Turkey2.78
140 Pakistan2.783 2
141 Niger2.792 6
142 Venezuela2.821 3
143 Haiti2.827 9
144 Ethiopia2.845 5
145 Palestine2.872 9
146 Colombia2.887
147 Nigeria2.907
148 Myanmar2.943 6
149 Burkina Faso2.969 1
150 Central African Republic3.009 1
151 Iraq3.045 2
152 North Korea3.055 2
153 Somalia3.091 2
154 Mali3.095 2
155 Israel3.115 11
156 Syria3.173 2
157 Russia3.249 2
158 Democratic Republic of the Congo3.264 4
159 Ukraine3.28 3
160 Afghanistan3.294
161 South Sudan3.324 2
162 Sudan3.327 5
163 Yemen3.397 2

Note: The GPI's methodology is updated regularly and is improved to reflect the most up-to-date datasets. Each year's GPI report includes a detailed description of the methodology used. Also, the data is revised periodically and so values from previous years may change accordingly.These tables contain the scores and ranking published in the official annual reports, for the latest revised data please visit the Interactive world map of the Global Peace Index Archived 2022-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.

Responses

The Index has received endorsements as a political project from a number of major international figures, including the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; former President of Finland and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari; the Dalai Lama; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Muhammad Yunus; and former United States President Jimmy Carter.16

Jeffrey Sachs at Columbia University said: "The GPI continues its pioneering work in drawing the world's attention to the massive resources we are squandering in violence and conflict."17 Some at Australian National University say that the GPI report presents "the latest and most comprehensive global data on trends in peace, violence and war" and "provides the world's best analysis of the statistical factors associated with long-term peace, as well as economic analysis on the macroeconomic impacts of everyday violence and war on the global economy."18

According to The Economist, the weighting of military expenditure "may seem to give heart to freeloaders: countries that enjoy peace precisely because others (often the USA) care for their defence".19 The Global Peace Index has been criticized for not including indicators specifically relating to violence against women and children.20 The impact of Global Peace Index has been lower on the academic study of war and peace than on international organizations.21

Previous reports

See also

  • Peace portal
  • World portal

Notes

References

  1. Institute for Economics & Peace. "Global Peace Index 2017" (PDF). visionofhumanity.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2017-11-27. /wiki/Institute_for_Economics_%26_Peace ↩

  2. Wang, Monica. "The World's Most And Least Peaceful Countries In 2016". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2017-11-26. https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicawang/2016/06/17/the-worlds-most-and-least-peaceful-countries-in-2016/#24c9f81a644f ↩

  3. "Global Peace Index". https://www.economicsandpeace.org/global-peace-index/#:~:text=Produced%20by%20the%20Institute%20for,how%20to%20develop%20peaceful%20societies ↩

  4. "'Peacefulness' Is Down Globally. These Are the 10 Most – and Least – Peaceful Countries". U.S. News & World Report. 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-08-23. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-06-11/as-peace-falls-globally-which-countries-are-the-most-and-least-peaceful ↩

  5. "Global Peace Index 2023" (PDF). Institute for Economics & Peace. June 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GPI-2023-Web.pdf ↩

  6. "'Peacefulness' Is Down Globally. These Are the 10 Most – and Least – Peaceful Countries". U.S. News & World Report. 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-08-23. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-06-11/as-peace-falls-globally-which-countries-are-the-most-and-least-peaceful ↩

  7. "INDEX", The Christology of Erasmus, Catholic University of America Press, pp. 293–302, 2024-01-26, doi:10.2307/jj.10677887.15, ISBN 978-0-8132-3803-6, retrieved 2024-06-17 978-0-8132-3803-6 ↩

  8. Information about indicators and methodology "2013 Global Peace Index"(PDF). Institute for Economics and Peace. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2013-06-24. ↩

  9. In this case, a conflict is defined as, "a contested incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, results in at least 25 battle-related deaths in a year." ↩

  10. Excludes militia and national guard forces. ↩

  11. This includes, "cash outlays of central or federal government to meet the costs of national armed forces—including strategic, land, naval, air, command, administration and support forces as well as paramilitary forces, customs forces and border guards if these are trained and equipped as a military force." ↩

  12. This includes transfers, purchases, or gifts of aircraft, armoured vehicles, artillery, radar systems, missiles, ships, engines ↩

  13. Rates the destructive capability of a country's stock of heavy weapons via a categorized system. As of 2013, countries with nuclear capabilities receive a score of five, the highest possible score. ↩

  14. Institute for Economics and Peace. "Global Peace Index Report, Methodology, pg. 113–136" (PDF). Visionofhumanity.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2017-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401040211/http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2017/06/GPI17-Report.pdf ↩

  15. "2024 Global Peace Index" (PDF). Institute for Economics & Peace. Institute for Economics & Peace. June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-19. Retrieved 2024-07-02. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf ↩

  16. Endorsers for GPI — Vision of Humanity. Retrieved 2013-08-16. ↩

  17. "Global Peace Index: World Less Peaceful in 2010 Report, Violence Impacting Global Economy $7 Trillion Annually". Phil's Stock World. Retrieved 2017-11-27. http://www.philstockworld.com/2010/06/08/global-peace-index-world-less-peaceful-in-2010-report-violence-impacting-global-economy-7-trillion-annually/ ↩

  18. "Giving peace a chance? 2017 Global Peace Index". ANU. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-11-27. http://www.anu.edu.au/events/giving-peace-a-chance-2017-global-peace-index ↩

  19. "Give peace a rating". The Economist. 2007-05-31. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2017-11-27. http://www.economist.com/node/9266967 ↩

  20. "Dark underbelly of the world's most 'peaceful' countries". Christian Science Monitor. 2007-07-26. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2017-11-27. https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0726/p09s01-coop.html ↩

  21. Firchow, Pamina; Ginty, Roger Mac (2017). "Measuring Peace: Comparability, Commensurability, and Complementarity Using Bottom-Up Indicators". International Studies Review. 19: 6–27. doi:10.1093/isr/vix001. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/vix001 ↩