London: Iceland has been crowned the most peaceful nation in the world for the 13th consecutive year, according to the latest edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI).
Compiled by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the index measures the state of peace across three key areas, including the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarisation. Despite a year of ongoing hardships, research found most countries have in fact become more peaceful.
While Iceland topped the table, New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal and Slovenia rounded off the top five. Overall, this year saw 87 countries record an increase in peace levels — compared to 73 that saw a fall. The index also found that, due to the pandemic, the world is on average 0.07% less peaceful than it was a year ago.
According to the GPI, Europe remains the most peaceful region, with no European country ranked outside the top half of the index. On the other hand, however, the least peaceful region is the Middle East and North Africa.
“The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peacefulness is still unfolding,” the report said. “While some forms of violence declined in the short term, growing unease with lockdowns and rising economic uncertainty resulted in civil unrest increasing in 2020.”
Elsewhere in the report, the UK was placed 33rd, while the US came 122nd, between Azerbaijan and South Africa. Some of the reasons for a decrease in peace were down to a global increase in military spending and higher levels of civil unrest — mostly down to the pandemic.
20 most peaceful nations in the world
1.Iceland
2.New Zealand
3.Denmark
4.Portugal
5.Slovenia
6.Austria
7.Switzerland
8.Ireland
9.Czech Republic
10.Canada
11.Singapore
12.Japan
13.Finland
14.Norway
15.Sweden
16.Australia
17.Croatia
18.Germany
19.Hungary
20.Belgium
Countryliving.com
