Context: Iceland has once again emerged as the most peaceful country in the world, maintaining its top ranking since 2008. In contrast, India's position on the Global Peace Index stands at 126 out of 163.

Global Peace Index

• Released by: Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) since May 2009.

• Extensive Coverage: The GPI covers 163 countries, representing 99.7% of the world’s population, utilizing 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from reputable sources.

• 3 Domains of Peace: The index measures peace across three domains: societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and militarization. These domains provide a holistic understanding of a country’s peacefulness.

Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)

• It was founded by IT entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea in 2007.

• It aims to create a paradigm shift in the way the world thinks about peace by developing global and national indices, calculating the economic cost of violence, analysing country level risk and fragility, and understanding Positive Peace.

• It’s research is used extensively by governments, academic institutions, think tanks, non‑governmental organisations and by intergovernmental institutions such as the OECD, The Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank and the United Nations. 

• The Institute is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

Methodology

The GPI covers 163 countries comprising 99.7 percent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources. It measures the state of peace across three domains:

• Societal safety and security

• Ongoing domestic and international conflict

• Militarisation

Major Findings of the Index

• Deterioration of Global Peace: It reveals the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth consecutive year, with 84 countries recording an improvement and 79 a deterioration. 

• This demonstrates that the deteriorations were larger than the improvements, as the post-COVID rises of civil unrest and political instability remain high while regional and global conflicts accelerate.

• The two indicators with the largest deteriorations in 2022 were conflict-related, external conflicts fought and deaths from internal conflict, followed by political instability.

• Political Instability: There were 59 countries where political instability deteriorated over the past year, compared to just 22 where the indicator improved.

• Global Conflicts: Deaths from global conflict increased by 96% to 238,000. New data shows a higher number of conflict deaths in Ethiopia than Ukraine, eclipsing the previous global peak during the Syrian war.

• 79 countries witnessed increased levels of conflict including Ethiopia, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, and South Africa.

• Conflicts are becoming more internationalised with 91 countries now involved in some form of external conflict, up from 58 in 2008.

• Economic impact of violence: The global economic impact of violence increased by 17% or $1 trillion, to $17.5 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 13% of global GDP.

• A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would cause a drop in global economic output of $2.7 trillion, almost double the loss that occurred due to the 2008 global financial crisis.

• Military Expenditure: Despite the conflict in Ukraine, 92 countries improved on military expenditure and 110 decreased their military personnel.

Ranking of the Countries

• Top 10 Most Peaceful Countries: Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan, Switzerland.

• Least peaceful countries: 154- Iraq, 155- Sudan, 156- Somalia, 157- Ukraine, 158- Russia, 159- Democratic Republic of the Congo, 160 -South Sudan, 161- Syria, 162- Yemen, 163- Afghanistan.

• India: India has occupied the 126th spot in the rankings, two higher than its previous position. 

• India experienced an improvement of 3.5 percent in overall peacefulness over the past year, owing to improvements in violent crime, neighbouring countries’ relations, and political instability. The improvement on the neighbouring countries relations indicator occurred because of fewer incidences of cross border violence and ceasefire violations with Pakistan and China in 2022.

• Among other countries, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, United States of America, and Pakistan, have been ranked 79, 80, 107, 131, 146, respectively.