2023 Global Peace Index
On June 28, the 17th edition of the Global Peace Index from international think-tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) was released, and things are not looking great.
The analysis showed that conflict deaths are at their highest level this century causing world peacefulness to decline.
Some key findings in the report ยป
- Deaths from global conflict increased by 96%
- 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
- 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
- Despite the conflict in Ukraine, 92 countries improved on military expenditure and 110 decreased their military personnel
- Conflicts are becoming more internationalised with 91 countries now involved in some form of external conflict, up from 58 in 2008
Iceland remains the most peaceful country, a position it has held since 2008, followed by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan, Switzerland, followed by Canada in 11th spot. The United States of America ranked 131st, after South Africa (130).
For the eighth consecutive year, Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country in the world, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, Ukraine, Somalia, and Sudan.
This page was last updated on 2023.08.30