USA ranked 122nd most peaceful country after « significant deterioration in peacefulness »

The most peaceful countries in the world have been updated for 2021. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below

Iceland is once again the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia.

However, the world is a less peaceful place as civil unrest and political instability has increased due to the global pandemic according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) report.

Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth year in a row, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and Iraq.

The GPI report is the only statistical measure of its kind and makes it possible to rank 163 independent states based on how peaceful they are. The 163 states cover over 99% of the world’s population and are assessed using 23 indicators, each banded or normalised on a scale of 1-5.

The index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), measures global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

Peace is notoriously difficult to define. The IEP approaches it by attempting to assess the “harmony achieved by the absence of violence or the fear of violence” in a society. More information on the methodology, including details of the 23 indicators used, can be found on page 75 of the report.

10 LEAST and most peaceful countries

Key Findings

• Iceland has maintained its position as the most peaceful country in the world. It has been ranked first every year since 2008.
• Afghanistan is the world’s least peaceful country for the fourth consecutive year.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 0.07% in 2021.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 2% since 2008.
• This is the 10th time in the last 13 years that global peacefulness has declined.
• Civil unrest has risen globally by 10% with Belarus recording the largest deterioration.
• There were 14,871 violent demonstrations, protests and riots recorded globally in 2020.
• The death toll from terrorism has declined for the sixth consecutive year.
• 87 countries improved and 73 recorded a deterioration over the past year.
• Ukraine (+6 places), Iraq (+2), Poland (+9), Vietnam (+19) and North Macedonia (+11) recorded the largest improvements in their peace scores.
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to eight of the 10 most peaceful countries.
• North America recorded the largest deterioration in 2021, with the average level of peacefulness in the region falling by 1.8%.
• The USA experienced a significant deterioration in peacefulness over the past year due to an increase in civil unrest, violent demonstrations and a rise in political instability.
• The USA has the lowest scores for jailed population, weapons exports and nuclear and heavy weapons.
• Despite recording the largest improvement in peacefulness in 2021, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful.

World’s Most peaceful countries – ranked

The table below ranks 163 of the world’s countries by how they scored on the Global Peace Index. Some countries have been omitted due to lack of sufficient data.

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Lead image: ANDREW MAYOVSKYY/SHUTTERSTOCK