This is the 16th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies.
The GPI covers 163 countries comprising 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation.
10 Most Peaceful Countries in the World
Main findings:
- In the past year, 90 countries recorded an improvement, while 71 recorded a deterioration in peacefulness. Three countries recorded no change in their overall score.
- Of the 23 GPI indicators, ten recorded improvements and 13 recorded deteriorations.
- The largest deteriorations were recorded in the political terror scale, neighbouring country relations, intensity of internal conflict, number of refugees and IDPs and political instability.
- There were a number of indicators that recorded strong yearly improvements, including terrorism impact, nuclear and heavy weapons, deaths from internal conflict, military expenditure, incarceration rates and perceptions of criminality. Deaths from terrorism have been decreasing for the past seven years.
| RANK | COUNTRY | SCORE | PROGRESSION |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Iceland |
1.107 |
– |
|
2 |
New Zealand |
1.269 |
– |
|
3 |
Ireland |
1.288 |
+3 |
|
4 |
Denmark |
1.296 |
-1 |
|
5 |
Austria |
1.3 |
+2 |
|
6 |
Portugal |
1.301 |
-1 |
|
7 |
Slovenia |
1.316 |
-3 |
|
8 |
Czech Republic |
1.318 |
-1 |
|
9 |
Singapore |
1.326 |
+1 |
|
10 |
Japan |
1.336 |
+1 |
The average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.3 per cent in the 2022 Global Peace Index. Although small, this deterioration continues a long-standing trend, with the GPI deteriorating in eleven of the past 14 years.
10 Most Peaceful Countries in Africa
Africa recorded a slight fall in peacefulness in the 2022 GPI, with the average country score deteriorating by 0.022 points, or one per cent. Of the 44 countries in the region, 21 improved in score, while 22 deteriorated and one remained unchanged. The region is less peaceful than the global average on the Safety and Security and Ongoing Conflict domains, but more peaceful than the global average on the Militarisation domain. Five coups as well as disputes over election results and allegations of corruption led to a rise in civil unrest and political instability across the region, resulting in an average deterioration across the region in the political terror indicator of 6.9 per cent.
| RANK | COUNTRY | SCORE | WORLD RANK | PROGRESSION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Mauritius |
1.57 |
28 |
+2 |
|
2 |
Ghana |
1.759 |
40 |
+1 |
|
3 |
The Gambia |
1.792 |
45 |
+10 |
|
4 |
Botswana |
1.801 |
48 |
-5 |
|
5 |
Sierra Leone |
1.803 |
50 |
+2 |
|
6 |
Zambia |
1.841 |
56 |
+10 |
|
7 |
Equatorial Guinea |
1.863 |
59
|
-6 |
|
8 |
Malawi |
1.895 |
65 |
-2 |
|
9 |
Namibia |
1.908 |
68 |
-9 |
|
10 |
Senegal |
1.916 |
70 |
+12 |
The most peaceful country in the region is Mauritius, which is ranked 28th in the 2022 GPI. The country recorded a slight improvement of 1.3 per cent in its GPI score.
10 Most Peaceful Arabic Countries
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains the least peaceful region in the world for the seventh consecutive year, despite recording improvements in peacefulness since 2020. MENA improved by 0.034 points, or 1.4 per cent, from 2021 to 2022. All three GPI domains improved in the region, with the largest improvement occurring in the Militarisation domain, which experienced an average decrease of 1.8 per cent in score.
There were improvements in the overall score in 12 of the 20 countries in the region, with an average overall increase in peacefulness of 1.4per cent, which is the largest MENA has experienced since 2008. Eight countries in the region recorded a deterioration in peacefulness. The primary drivers of the improvement in peacefulness in the region were declines in the impact of terrorism, deaths from conflict and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
| RANK | COUNTRY | SCORE | WORLD RANK | PROGRESSION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Qatar |
1.533 |
23 |
+6 |
|
2 |
Kuwait |
1.739 |
39 |
-1 |
|
3 |
Jordan |
1.849 |
57 |
+15 |
|
4 |
United Arab Emirates |
1.865 |
60 |
+1 |
|
5 |
Oman |
1.889 |
64 |
– |
|
6 |
Morocco |
1.969 |
74 |
+9 |
|
7 |
Tunisia |
1.996 |
85 |
-3 |
|
8 |
Bahrain |
2.085 |
99 |
+1 |
|
9 |
Algeria |
2.146 |
109 |
+10 |
|
10 |
Mauritania |
2.193 |
112 |
+5 |
The Middle East and North Africa region remained the world’s least peaceful. It is home to two of the five least peaceful countries in the world. However, it recorded the second largest regional improvement over the past year. GPI 2022 Report
Download the full report: GPI 2022 Report
