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Global Index Finds World has Become Less Peaceful
The Global Peace Index records less armed conflict, but increasing rates of homicide and violent crime across the world
The world has become less peaceful over the last year, despite a drop in the number of armed conflicts, according to this year's Global Peace Index (GPI).
Peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan is one of the least peaceful countries in the world. (Photograph: AFP) Figures
published today show homicide rates and violent crime had increased
around the world, particularly in Latin America, where levels of
peacefulness showed the biggest slip over the past 12 months.
The GPI has been published annually for the last four years by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global thinktank that researches the relationship between economics, business and peace. The rankings, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, are calculated using 23 indicators, such as violent crime, political stability and military expenditure, correlated against a number of social development indicators such as corruption, freedom of the press, respect for human rights and school enrolment rates.
Figures show that Africa has become the most improved region of the world for peacefulness over the last four years. The continent has experienced fewer conflicts, less military spending and improved cross-border relations. However, sub-Saharan Africa still remains one of the planet's least peaceful areas, with nine states featuring in the bottom 20 countries listed.
The Middle East has also shown improvements in its levels of peacefulness since 2006, largely through decreasing military spending and improved relations between states.
However, South Asia has become the most volatile area over the last four years, mainly due to increased involvement in conflicts and human rights abuses. This year, Pakistan was ranked 145 out of the 149 states listed and India ranked 129, evidence, says Steve Killelea, founder of the GPI, of the impact of the war on terror.
Levels of peace
For the second year running, New Zealand is rated the most peaceful country in the world, with Iceland climbing back up to second place, after dropping from the top slot in 2008 to fourth place last year. Japan ranked third. Fifteen of the top 20 countries are western or central European states and all Scandinavian countries are listed in the top 10, suggesting that small, stable, democratic countries are the most peaceful. The UK was ranked 31, one of the few countries to improve positions, while the US dropped two places to 85, largely due to its military expenditure, high prison population and increasing rates of violent crime and homicide.
For the fourth year running, Iraq was found to be the least peaceful country, followed by Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan. Russia ranked 143.
This year, five extra countries were added to the index - Armenia, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Swaziland, which ranked 113, 63, 99, 53 and 73 respectively.
In a sense, the GPI make a case for peace - putting a monetary value on peace in terms of business growth and economic development. The index authors estimate that the total economic impact of an end to violence could have been US$28.2tr between 2006 and 2009. A 25% reduction in global violence would add an annual $1.85tr to the global economy. Killelea said these amounts could pay off Greece's debts, meet the yearly requirements needed to hit the Millennium Development Goals and pay for the EU's carbon reduction programme, and still leave change.
Aid thoughts
The rankings could provide useful backing to donor governments rethinking their aid strategies. The UK government is currently reviewing the countries to which it gives aid and has set up a National Security Council to pull together plans for development and defence. In a speech last week, the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, spoke of the importance of building "peaceful and stable societies abroad", with particular reference to Afghanistan.
"It's highly appropriate to look at the index and review how we go about giving aid. In the past, a lot of it was giving on a political whim, to prop up some government," said Killelea. "You need the right resources and approaches to build a well functioning government and make sure resources are spread around the people." A government would also save "hundreds of billions of dollars" in military expenditure.
Africa, he added, had experienced significant economic growth over the last decade, which had resulted in improved GDP across the continent, a drop in armed conflict and improvements in child mortality and education rates. But Killelea the continent still had a long way to go. "We don't want to lose sight that Africa is the most violent region in the world", he said.
The highest ranked country in Africa is Botswana, at 33. Uganda ranked 100 this year, an improvement on last year. However, Killelea noted that while the country had clearly improved in a number of areas, particularly in terms of economic growth, political instability, a worsening respect for human rights and an increasing number of deaths from organised crime remained major problems.
The top 10 GPI rankings:
1 New Zealand 1.188
2 Iceland 1.212
3 Japan 1.247
4 Austria 1.290
5 Norway 1.322
6 Ireland 1.337
7 Denmark 1.341
7 Luxembourg 1.341
9 Finland 1.352
10 Sweden 1.354
The bottom 10:
139 North Korea 2.855
140 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2.925
141 Chad 2.964
142 Georgia 2.970
143 Russia 3.013
144 Israel 3.019
145 Pakistan 3.050
146 Sudan 3.125
147 Afghanistan 3.252
148 Somalia 3.390
149 Iraq 3.406
11 Comments so far
Show AllThese kind of reports fail to include the reality of how people in the "peaceful" and "democratic" countries got to be so comfortable. Resource and worker exploitation of "third world" countries by Western Countries, including Scandanavian, are in part responsible for the material comfort they so enjoy.
Read Ursula Leguin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" to get a glimpse of the paradox inherent in our modern lifestyles.
In a word, DUH.
Besides our military massacres all over the world, we've got death squads going in 75 countries right now. The US and Israel is at the heart of all the turmoil, nobody else comes close.
That's exactly what I thought
"In a word, DUH."
DUH here too.
IMO, this type of "index" is totally useless.
I won't call it research.
I will call it a total waste of money & effort.
how enlightened i feel now.
P.S. Screw you America and Isreal !!!!
Too bad there isnt a way regular posters here could come together and form a *think tank* and get funded by some governments and corporations to put out a report.
We could call it the "Why The World Is So Fu**ed-up Report. Hell, we've got plenty of facts and data.
The fun part would be the recommendations.
i like that idea............i'd do it for nothing.
Liz, not to be dismissive but the Global Peace Index (while a nice thing) is not what really matters to confront our CAUSAL problem of Global EMPIRE.
It would be more effective if the focus was on a Global Empire Index, and if we focused all our efforts on recognizing and confronting this damn Global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE (of which only the third term 'militarist' pertains specifically to peace or anti-war movements).
The only movement that matters and can address ALL the problems of this CANCER OF EMPIRE is the "Anti-EMPIRE Movement", because the global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE that controls our country (and our world) by hiding behind the facade of its TWO-PARTY 'Vichy' sham of democratic government is the singular, signal, and seminal CAUSE of all of these ‘symptoms’, ‘identity issues’, problems, disasters, deaths, and "Sorrows of Empire"!
It is the ultimate “Illusion of EMPIRE” that these issues are separate --- an illusion that “divides and conquers” the peoples’ distracted and divided attempt to attack the single central CAUSE of all these supposedly separate problems.
IT IS ONLY by attacking the singular underlying hidden cancerous tumor of EMPIRE --- and excising it --- that ALL these problems can be all solved; imperialist wars, climate destruction, criminal economic inequality, social injustice, racism, torture, global warming, financial looting by banks and hedge fund whores, domestic tyranny, spying, police-state oppression, crimes against humanity, ,,, clear cutting, killing whales, credit card usury, .... etc. etc.
If we continue to be stupid enough to let the single and unified ruling-elite oppressive Global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE to 'DIVIDE AND CONQUER' us (the US, and the world's working-class citizens) by being so stupid and diverted in our thinking that we continue to divide our own potential solidarity by focusing petty pissant personal efforts on hundreds of diverse, divided, symbolic, 'identity issues' like; 'climate justice', and prison justice, and racism, and anti-war efforts, and anti-cluster bomb efforts and 'save the friggin dolphins' efforts, then the unified Global EMPIRE will laugh all the way to OUR funeral.
The Global EMPIRE is unified and the world's people are pissing away their potential power to fight the EMPIRE because we are all caught-up on these stupid diversity and distractive little separate fights about dolphins and wars and trees and god knows what else while the EMPIRE is focused like a laser on killing us and exploiting our planet!
Get with it people, for god's sake --- our only power is in solidarity to confront the CAUSAL CANCER of the singular Global EMPIRE --- and we are all going to hang separately if we don't "Hang Together" as Ben Franklin (and all our founding fathers knew) when they were fighting the singular, integrated political/financial/economic/corporate/militarist British friggin EMPIRE.
Why the --ck is it so hard for the current stupid American people to understand that that was the secret to the success of our own fist American Revolution against EMPIRE???
And that's the secret to any and all successful battles against EMPIRE --- absolute solidarity focused entirely against the EMPIRE itself.
Only a unified battle which focuses the combined SOLIDARITY of the people directly against the monster of the EMPIRE itself is going to have any chance of winning and solving all of the problems that the EMPIRE is CAUSING.
My god, people, do you friggin think that the American colonists would have ever achieved anything if they said, "Let's form an 'identity group' that addresses the way the British Empire is cutting down trees for their royal navy ships", and another little group that said, "Let's form a different group that files a complaint with the royal governor about British Empire soldiers taking our food and sleeping in our homes,", and another dumb colonialist twerp who said, "I know. Let's form another little 'do nothing group' that takes donations to support a study about how the British Empire is unfairly taxing our stamps, and a separate study to show the percentage that the Empire is taxing our tea."
Hell, if that's all the brains and lack of guts that our fore fathers showed, we'd all still be singing "God save the friggin Queen".
Get with it people ---- the fight is against the EMPIRE. Doing anything but focusing all combined and solidarity efforts against the EMPIRE --- first, second, third and always --- is just going to result in the EMPIRE laughing at how stupid we are to divide ourselves, while they crush us under their unified thumb.
Let's stop being 'feel good idiots' promoting a multitude of dizzy, divided, and distractive separate movements, and unite as a "Global 'Anti-EMPIRE' Peoples Movement" ---- or we can kiss our lives, our children, our freedom, our country, our environment, our world, and our species good bye.
One almost has to wonder if the media, even the supposed alternative internet media, is working against the ruling-elite Global corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE, or for it --- when so much of the media continues to run hundreds of 'divide and conquer' stories about this little 'social justice' issue, and that little 'torture' issue, and this little 'cluster bomb' issue, and that little 'clean water' issue, and this little 'save the whales' issue ---- instead of focusing and amplifying their media voice power on a singular 'Anti-EMPIRE' fight that could actually solve all these separate 'issues'?
What? Are the media just as happy having lots of little 'issues' to write about and keep their readership up and AD revenues up?
And what about the hundreds of little do nothing 'identity issues' groups and fund-raisers, who keep themselves going and growing (while accomplishing little) by focusing on the 'popularity' and market 'demographics' of being the best little 'anti-war' site on the internet, or the best internet site at 'uncovering' ecology scare stories??
If these internet sites want to actually accomplish something in terms of really stopping the 'horrors' that they write about why don't they attack the friggin CAUSE --- EMPIRE???
Nuf said.
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> REMEMBER the USS LIBERTY <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,JUNE 8th, 1967 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The Europeans came, they saw, and conquered, or rather stole the natives land, and I laugh everytime a Tea Parties says,--- we must take back our land,--and that has been what the American natives have been saying for years.- Also the Palestinians to the Israeli's, and soon the people of the Middle East to the United States, because the reason to invade was not to help, or free the people, but to have the right to control them, and the oil beneath their land. The demand to put in an oil pipe line that started it all. 9/11 was our Reichstag, and also started the Hitlerian policies we have encounted. Israel wishes for all the Arabs land as we drain all the oil supply. At least this is how I see the situation.
What the hell do you expect with the biggest crime syndicate in the world (aka. Washington-Wall Street) calling the shots. F****ng teabaggers are worried about some "New World Order"? That's the problem, we don't have world-wide organization powerful enough to control these bastards, the corporations.