Iceland has been named the most peaceful country in the world for the 15th year in running, according to Global Peace Index 2023, even as overall world peace deteriorated.
The Institute of Economics and Peace’s 17th 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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