2016 Global Peace Index: Iceland is the Most Peaceful Country in the World

 

In today’s strife-torn world, peace has become elusive. Today, acts of terrorism, and sectarian violence have ravaged many nations around the world leading to the loss of precious lives and economic damages. The Middle East is marred by conflict resulting in the refugee crisis, which has witnessed millions of migrants crossing into Europe.

To assess the relative position of the peacefulness of nations around the world, the Institute for Economics and Peace, releases the Global Peace Index on an annual basis. The 2016 Global Peace Index gives an alarming picture of the world. As per the index, the world has become less peaceful in the last year. The report also highlights the fact that the gap between the most peaceful countries and those at the other end of the spectrum have widened. However, on a positive note, the report also states that the situation in many countries has improved.

According to the 2016 Global Peace Index, Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world. The European nation is devoid of political upheaval, war and conflict. The nation has a score of 1.192. Along with Iceland, Denmark and Austria are the other two European nations that have ranked high on the 2016 Global Peace Index. Denmark, which is at the second spot, has a score of 1.246, while Austria, at the third position scores 1.278. Other peaceful nations, which have scored between 1 and 1.5 are New Zealand, Portugal, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany, and some others.

Countries, which have scored between 1.5 and 2 are the Netherlands, Spain, Botswana, Estonia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Mongolia, South Korea, Vietnam and some others. The countries that have ranked at the bottom of the table and have scores of more than 3.5 are the least peaceful. These nations are marred by conflicts, civil war and terrorism related incidents. The four countries in this category are Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, and Syria. Among these, Syria is placed right at the bottom of the list and has a score of 3.806. Since 2011, Syria is embroiled in a civil war and today is one of the most violent countries in the world.

Refer to the table below to get information on how nations score on the 2016 Global Peace Index.

Most Peaceful	Country	Score
1	Iceland	1.192
2	Denmark	1.246
3	Austria	1.278
4	New Zealand	1.287
5	Portugal	1.356
6	Czech Republic	1.36
7	Switzerland	1.37
8	Canada	1.388
9	Japan	1.395
10	Slovenia	1.408
11	Finland	1.429
12	Ireland	1.433
13	Bhutan	1.445
14	Sweden	1.461
15	Australia	1.465
16	Germany	1.486
17	Norway	1.5
18	Belgium	1.528
19	Hungary	1.534
20	Singapore	1.535
21	Netherlands	1.541
22	Poland	1.557
23	Mauritius	1.559
24	Slovakia	1.603
25	Spain	1.604
26	Croatia	1.633
27	Chile	1.635
28	Botswana	1.639
29	Bulgaria	1.646
30	Malaysia	1.648
31	Romania	1.649
32	Latvia	1.68
33	Costa Rica	1.699
34	Qatar	1.716
35	Uruguay	1.726
36	Estonia	1.732
37	Lithuania	1.735
38	Madagascar	1.763
39	Italy	1.774
40	Zambia	1.783
41	Taiwan	1.787
42	Indonesia	1.799
43	Sierra Leone	1.805
44	Ghana	1.809
45	Malawi	1.817
46	France	1.829
47	United Kingdom	1.83
48	Serbia	1.834
49	Panama	1.837
50	Mongolia	1.838
51	Kuwait	1.842
52	Laos	1.852
53	South Korea	1.858
54	Albania	1.867
55	Namibia	1.873
56	Timor-Leste	1.879
57	Montenegro	1.884
58	Tanzania	1.899
59	Vietnam	1.906
60	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.915
61	United Arab Emirates	1.931
62	Equatorial Guinea	1.94
63	Lesotho	1.941
64	Tunisia	1.949
65	Moldova	1.953
66	Togo	1.954
67	Argentina	1.957
68	Mozambique	1.963
69	Nicaragua	1.975
70	Senegal	1.978
71	Cyprus	1.994
72	Benin	1.998
72	Liberia	1.998
74	Oman	2.016
75	Kazakhstan	2.019
76	Ecuador	2.02
77	Kosovo	2.022
78	Nepal	2.026
79	Gabon	2.033
80	Paraguay	2.037
81	Bolivia	2.038
82	Greece	2.044
83	Bangladesh	2.045
84	Trinidad and Tobago	2.056
85	Cuba	2.057
85	Georgia	2.057
85	Peru	2.057
88	Burkina Faso	2.063
89	Haiti	2.066
90	Swaziland	2.074
91	Morocco	2.086
92	The Gambia	2.091
92	Jamaica	2.091
94	Macedonia	2.092
95	Guyana	2.105
96	Jordan	2.127
97	Sri Lanka	2.133
98	Angola	2.14
99	Dominican Republic	2.143
99	Papua New Guinea	2.143
101	Guinea	2.148
101	Uganda	2.148
103	United States of America	2.154
104	Cambodia	2.161
105	Brazil	2.176
106	Belarus	2.202
106	Turkmenistan	2.202
108	Algeria	2.213
109	Uzbekistan	2.216
110	Armenia	2.218
111	Honduras	2.237
111	El Salvador	2.237
113	Niger	2.239
114	Republic of the Congo	2.249
115	Myanmar	2.256
116	Guinea-Bissau	2.264
117	Guatemala	2.27
118	Cote d’ Ivoire	2.279
119	Ethiopia	2.284
120	China	2.288
121	Djibouti	2.292
122	Tajikistan	2.293
123	Mauritania	2.295
124	Kyrgyz Republic	2.297
125	Thailand	2.312
126	South Africa	2.316
127	Zimbabwe	2.322
128	Rwanda	2.323
129	Saudi Arabia	2.338
130	Cameroon	2.356
131	Kenya	2.379
132	Bahrain	2.398
133	Iran	2.411
134	Azerbaijan	2.45
135	Eritrea	2.46
136	Chad	2.464
137	Mali	2.489
138	Burundi	2.5
139	Philippines	2.511
140	Mexico	2.557
141	India	2.566
142	Egypt	2.574
143	Venezuela	2.651
144	Israel	2.656
145	Turkey	2.71
146	Lebanon	2.752
147	Colombia	2.764
148	Palestine	2.832
149	Nigeria	2.877
150	North Korea	2.944
151	Russia	3.079
152	Democratic Republic of the Congo	3.112
153	Pakistan	3.145
154	Libya	3.2
155	Sudan	3.269
156	Ukraine	3.287
157	Central African Republic	3.354
158	Yemen	3.399
159	Somalia	3.414
160	Afghanistan	3.538
161	Iraq	3.57
162	South Sudan	3.593
163	Syria	3.806

(Data sourced from The Institute for Economics and Peace)