Global Peace Index reveals most peaceful country in the world – the same winner for 15th year running

Iceland has been named the most peaceful country in the world for the 15^th year in running, according to Global Peace Index 2023, even as overall world peace deteriorated.

The Institute of Economics and Peace’s 17^th edition of annual report ranked 163 states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

Ranked number one in the list of most peaceful countries, Iceland held the spot since 2008 despite a 4 per cent deterioration in its overall score.

Iceland was followed by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria as the most peaceful countries while Afghanistan remained the least peaceful for the eighth consecutive year.

In the 2023 Global Peace Index, the overall level of country peacefulness experienced a decline of 0.42 per cent. This marks the ninth consecutive year of deterioration in global peacefulness and 13th time in the last 15 years. Since 2008, the average level of peacefulness has shown improvement only twice on a year-on-year basis.

“The deterioration in peacefulness was mainly due to a deterioration in the Ongoing Conflict domain. Deaths from internal conflict, neighbouring countries’ relations, and external conflicts all recorded significant deterioration, with the total number of conflict-related deaths increasing by 96 per cent,” the report said.

“Although the conflict in Ukraine was the primary driver of this increase, increases in conflict were also seen in many other countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the AsiaPacific.”

The report found that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its fallout were the drivers behind the deterioration in global peace. Both the countries have been ranked amongst the 10 least peaceful, while Ukraine marked the largest deterioration.

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During the past year, 84 countries experienced an improvement in peacefulness, while 79 countries witnessed a deterioration in their levels of peace.

In the Asia-Pacific region, peacefulness marked a slight improvement with 0.32 per cent rise. New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the region, recording an improvement. While North Korea is the least peaceful.

Europe, despite being the most peaceful region globally and housing seven of the top ten most peaceful countries, experienced a decline in peacefulness over the past year. The region’s overall score increased by slightly over one percent.

Out of the 36 countries in Europe, 13 showed improvements in peacefulness, while 23 experienced deteriorations. Factors such as political instability, strained neighboring country relations, and external conflicts contributed to this decline, largely influenced by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

North America became the third most peaceful region, which includes only the US and Canada. The US was ranked 131 peaceful country while Canada was 11^th most peaceful.

The US marked a declined in peacefulness, with overall score dropping below 0.38 per cent while Canada saw a 2.9 per cent increase in peacefulness.

South Asia observed a slight decline in peacefulness over the past year, retaining its position as the second least peaceful region overall. Bhutan was ranked most peaceful country in the region, followed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

India the most populated country recorded an improvement of 3.5 per cent in overall peacefulness over the past year, similar to Afghanistan where peacefulness increased by 2.73 per cent despite it being least peaceful country.