Global Peace Index 2021 reveals world’s most peaceful nations

It’s been a tumultuous 12 months, but despite the challenges of the past year, more countries saw an improvement in peace than a deterioration.

That’s according to the latest edition of the Global peace index (GPI), which each year grants a harmony ranking to 163 nations. Compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the index is considered the world’s leading criterion for measuring world peace.

Iceland topped the table for the thirteenth year in a row, followed by New Zealand and Denmark. The United Kingdom ranked 33rd, while the United States ranked 122nd, between Azerbaijan and South Africa.

Overall, 87 countries saw an increase in peace levels over the past year, compared to 73 that saw a drop. However, while most nations saw improvements, the index found that the world is, on average, 0.07% less peaceful than a year ago. Although small, it is the ninth deterioration recorded by the index in the last thirteen years.

The GPI measures the state of peace in three domains: the level of social security and protection; the scope of the ongoing national and international conflict; and the degree of militarization.

The decline in peace was attributed to a worldwide increase in military spending and higher levels of civil unrest, partly as a result of the pandemic.

According to the GPI, Europe remains the most peaceful region. The continent is home to eight of the 10 most peaceful nations, and no European country ranks outside of the top half of the index.

The least peaceful region is the Middle East and North Africa, but this is also where the greatest improvements were seen. The uploads were recoded in all three domains.

The greatest regional deterioration was recorded in North America. “This was fueled by a significant increase in social unrest in the United States in 2020, culminating in the events of January 6, 2021, in which pro-Trump protesters entered the Capitol building,” the report says.

Despite its findings, the GPI noted that people generally think the world is getting safer. According to the index, about 75 percent of the world’s citizens reported feeling as safe or more secure than five years ago. Rwanda has the highest proportion of people who feel more secure today than five years ago.

The GPI also found that deaths from terrorism fell for the sixth year in a row in 2020, with the biggest drops in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria.

“The impact of terrorism and the number of deaths from internal conflicts continued to fall, while the intensity of the internal conflict also improved,” the report adds.

Here are the 20 most peaceful nations, according to the GPI

1. Iceland
2. New Zealand
3. Denmark
4. Portugal
5. Slovenia
6. Austria
7. Swiss
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

Main image: Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Febiyan