Global Peace Index 2018: India ranks 136th

June 9, 2018

India was ranked 136th among 163 countries in Global Peace Index 2018 that was released by Sydney-based think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). In Last year’s index, India was ranked 137th. 2018 GPI was twelfth edition of index since it was launched in 2006. Iceland was ranked most peaceful country in the world and it managed to retain its position since 2008.

Global Peace Index (GPI)

GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories every year according to their level of peacefulness. It is considered as one of the most comprehensive analysis that captures trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. The multifaceted index uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure state of peace using three thematic domains: level of societal safety and security; extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict; and degree of militarisation. It also uses various parameters like the homicide rate, ease of access to weapons, impact of terrorism and number of armed services personnel in population.

Salient highlights

Top 10 Peaceful Countries in 2018 GPI: Iceland (1), New Zealand (2), Austria (3), Potugal (4), Denmark (5), Canada (6), Czech Republic (7), Singapore (8), Japan (9) and Ireland (10).
Top 10 Least Peaceful Countries: Syria (163), Afghanistan (162), South Sudan (161), Iraq (160), Somalia (159), Yemen (158), Libya (157), Democratic Republic of Congo (156), Central African Republic (155) and Russia (154).
The index has covered 99.7% of the world’s population.
Global peacefulness: The average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated by 2.38% since 2008. Over that period, 85 countries deteriorated, while 75 improved. 71 countries were more peaceful in 2018 than 2018. 92 countries were less peaceful in 2018 than in 2017. The global GPI average deteriorated 0.27% from 2017 to 2018.
Regional Peacefulness: Four most peaceful regions according to GPI 2018 are Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America. However, all these regions recorded deteriorations. Europe remains most peaceful region in the world. The combined Middle East and North Africa was the least peaceful region in the world.
Global economic impact of violence: It was $14.76 trillion PPP in 2017, equivalent to 12.4% of global GDP, or $1,988 per person. It has increased by 16% since 2012, corresponding with start of the Syrian war and rising violence in the aftermath of Arab Spring. In the last 70 years, per capita GDP growth has been three times higher in highly peaceful countries.
South Asia: The region experienced largest regional improvement in peacefulness. Bhutan (19), Sri Lanka (67), Nepal (84), Bangladesh (93) and Pakistan (151).