The new Global Peace Index (GPI) report ranked countries based on their “level of peacefulness,” placing Russia as the least-peaceful country and Iceland as the “most peaceful country” in the world.
The 19th edition of the report from the Australia-based Institute of Economics & Peace (IEP) looked at 163 independent states and territories using 23 indicators to measure the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflicts, and the degree of militarization.
Of the 163 countries ranked, 74 improved their placement while 87 slid from last year’s ranking. The GPI found an average deterioration of peacefulness of about .36 percent, marking the sixth year in a row that overall peacefulness declined.
Why It Matters
The world has seen increased instability in the international security landscape, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East adding to global tensions. President Donald Trump hit on this issue during last year’s presidential campaign and promised that upon taking office he would tackle the major conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
In the past months, Trump has pursued a number of peace deals, including one signed this month between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, ending the fight between Congo government forces and rebels allegedly backed by Rwanda.
The GPI report noted that there are currently 59 active state-based conflicts, “the most since the end of WWII and three more than the prior year.”
What To Know
The 2025 GPI found that “global peacefulness continues to decline and that many of the leading factors that precede major conflicts are higher than they have been since the end of WWII. More countries are increasing their levels of militarization against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, increasing conflict, the breakup of traditional alliances and rising economic uncertainty.”
Published earlier this month, the GPI had a relatively unchanged top 10, which Iceland topped, followed by Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Singapore, Portugal, Denmark, Slovenia, and Finland.
The biggest move at the top saw Canada tumbling out of the top 10 and land at tied-14th with the Netherlands, who did not move at all.
The United States ranked 128th, just ahead of Ecuador, Brazil and Libya, but behind Bangladesh, South Africa, Honduras, Togo, and Kenya.
Israel placed 155th, just ahead off South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan. Both the U.S. and Israel ranked last for the GPI “Militarization domain,” which appears to have a significant weighting, while Russia and Ukraine ranked last in the “Ongoing Conflict domain.”
Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan ranked last for the “Safety and Security domain.”
The Palestinian Territory was ranked 145, ahead of Turkey, Iraq and Nigeria and behind Colombia, Haiti, Iran, Niger and Pakistan.
What People Are Saying
The authors of the 2025 Global Peace Index wrote, in part: “The world has become less peaceful over the past 17 years, with the average country score deteriorating by 5.4 per cent since the index’s inception in 2008. Of the 163 countries in the GPI, 94 recorded deteriorations, while 66 recorded improvements and one recorded no change. Seventeen of the 23 GPI indicators deteriorated between 2008 and 2023, while seven improved.”
Later in the same report, they wrote: “Despite the overall deterioration in peacefulness globally, some indicators recorded noticeable improvement. The perceptions of criminality and homicide rate indicators both continued their long running trend of improvement. The violent demonstrations indicator also improved, although it has deteriorated for 12 of the past 17 years.”
“There were substantial improvements for many Safety and Security indicators, including violent demonstrations, terrorism impact and the homicide rate. Several countries in the Central and North America region recorded significant reductions in the number of homicides, although the region still has the highest average homicide rate of any region,” they wrote.
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