Country/Economy Peace Index (2020) Peace Index (2019) Peace Index (2018)
Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score
Iceland 1 1.078 1 1.072 1 1.09
New Zealand 2 1.198 2 1.221 2 1.18
Portugal 3 1.247 3 1.274 5 1.31
Austria 4 1.275 4 1.291 3 1.27
Denmark 5 1.283 5 1.316 4 1.31
Canada 6 1.298 6 1.327 6 1.33
Singapore 7 1.321 7 1.347 9 1.38
Slovenia 11 1.369 8 1.355 10 1.39
Japan 9 1.36 9 1.369 8 1.38
Czechia 8 1.337 10 1.375 7 1.37
Switzerland 10 1.366 11 1.383 13 1.40
Ireland 12 1.375 12 1.390 11 1.39
Australia 13 1.386 13 1.419 12 1.39
Finland 14 1.404 14 1.488 14 1.50
Bhutan 19 1.501 15 1.506 17 1.52
Malaysia 20 1.525 16 1.529 25 1.61
Netherlands 21 1.528 17 1.530 19 1.52
Belgium 17 1.496 18 1.533 21 1.53
Sweden 15 1.479 18 1.533 15 1.50
Norway 17 1.496 20 1.536 16 1.51
Hungary 24 1.559 21 1.540 22 1.54
Germany 16 1.494 22 1.547 18 1.52
Slovakia 25 1.568 23 1.550 23 1.56
Mauritius 23 1.544 24 1.562 20 1.53
Romania 22 1.541 25 1.606 24 1.59
Bulgaria 28 1.628 26 1.607 26 1.63
Chile 45 1.804 27 1.634 28 1.64
Croatia 26 1.615 28 1.645 27 1.63
Poland 29 1.657 29 1.654 32 1.72
Botswana 33 1.693 30 1.676 31 1.68
Qatar 27 1.616 31 1.696 41 1.78
Spain 38 1.712 32 1.699 29 1.67
Costa Rica 32 1.691 33 1.706 38 1.76
Estonia 30 1.68 33 1.730 37 1.72
Uruguay 35 1.704 34 1.711 37 1.75
Latvia 34 1.7 35 1.718 30 1.67
Taiwan 37 1.707 36 1.725 34 1.73
Republic of Lithuania 36 1.705 38 1.728 36 1.74
Italy 31 1.69 39 1.754 39 1.77
Malawi 59 1.885 40 1.779 44 1.81
Indonesia 49 1.831 41 1.785 55 1.85
Mongolia 39 1.723 42 1.792 42 1.80
Kuwait 39 1.723 43 1.794 50 1.83
Ghana 43 1.776 44 1.796 39 1.77
Laos 50 1.843 45 1.801 47 1.81
United Kingdom 42 1.77 45 1.801 50 1.83
Panama 56 1.875 47 1.804 49 1.82
East Timor 54 1.863 48 1.805 60 1.89
Zambia 44 1.794 48 1.805 48 1.82
Serbia 51 1.846 50 1.812 55 1.85
Albania 55 1.872 51 1.821 53 1.84
Sierra Leone 46 1.82 52 1.822 34 1.73
United Arab Emirates 41 1.752 53 1.847 45 1.81
Tanzania 52 1.85 54 1.860 52 1.84
Madagascar 63 1.905 55 1.867 57 1.86
South Korea 48 1.829 55 1.867 46 1.81
Vietnam 64 1.92 57 1.877 62 1.91
Senegal 47 1.824 58 1.883 54 1.85
Liberia 57 1.877 59 1.889 63 1.93
France 66 1.93 60 1.892 58 1.88
Namibia 53 1.861 60 1.892 42 1.80
Gambia 60 1.891 62 1.908 74 1.98
Cyprus 64 1.92 63 1.914 61 1.90
Kazakhstan 70 1.948 64 1.932 69 1.96
Greece 57 1.877 65 1.933 79 2.02
North Macedonia 62 1.9 65 1.933 88 2.06
Montenegro 69 1.944 67 1.939 59 1.89
Republic of Moldova 71 1.95 68 1.951 63 1.93
Oman 68 1.941 69 1.953 71 1.97
Equatorial Guinea 89 2.082 70 1.957 65 1.93
Ecuador 90 2.085 71 1.980 68 1.96
Benin 106 2.182 72 1.986 72 1.97
Eswatini 67 1.934 72 1.986 82 2.04
Sri Lanka 77 2.003 72 1.986 70 1.96
Argentina 74 1.978 75 1.989 67 1.95
Nepal 73 1.974 76 2.003 88 2.06
Angola 91 2.087 77 2.012 80 2.03
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 72 1.958 77 2.012 97 2.10
Rwanda 81 2.049 79 2.014 103 2.13
Peru 84 2.066 80 2.016 73 1.98
Bosnia and Herzegovina 79 2.04 81 2.019 90 2.06
Tunisia 92 2.09 82 2.035 75 2.00
Jamaica 80 2.041 83 2.038 93 2.07
Dominican Republic 76 1.992 84 2.041 91 2.07
Bolivia 86 2.074 85 2.044 81 2.03
Kosovo 85 2.07 86 2.049 94 2.08
Haiti 111 2.211 87 2.052 87 2.05
Paraguay 75 1.991 88 2.055 76 2.00
Cambodia 78 2.011 89 2.066 97 2.10
Morocco 83 2.057 90 2.070 77 2.01
Cuba 86 2.074 91 2.073 84 2.04
Guyana 82 2.05 92 2.075 83 2.04
Trinidad and Tobago 88 2.078 93 2.094 86 2.05
Mozambique 99 2.135 94 2.099 85 2.05
Kyrgyzstan 93 2.094 95 2.105 108 2.17
Gabon 95 2.116 96 2.112 95 2.09
Belarus 94 2.111 97 2.115 101 2.11
Papua New Guinea 101 2.157 98 2.118 96 2.10
Georgia 95 2.116 99 2.122 102 2.11
Guinea 89 2.082 100 2.125 100 2.10
Bangladesh 97 2.121 101 2.128 92 2.07
Uzbekistan 103 2.158 102 2.166 104 2.14
Lesotho 98 2.131 103 2.167 104 2.14
Burkina Faso 122 2.316 104 2.176 78 2.02
Tajikistan 107 2.188 105 2.196 117 2.27
Uganda 109 2.202 105 2.196 107 2.17
Ivory Coast 105 2.169 107 2.203 111 2.21
Togo 108 2.201 108 2.205 99 2.10
Djibouti 112 2.215 109 2.207 113 2.26
China 104 2.166 110 2.217 112 2.24
Algeria 117 2.287 111 2.219 109 2.18
Guinea-Bissau 101 2.157 112 2.237 118 2.28
El Salvador 113 2.243 113 2.262 115 2.27
Guatemala 115 2.267 114 2.264 110 2.21
Turkmenistan 116 2.276 115 2.265 119 2.28
Brazil 126 2.413 116 2.271 106 2.15
Thailand 114 2.245 117 2.278 114 2.26
Armenia 99 2.135 118 2.294 121 2.30
Kenya 125 2.375 119 2.300 120 2.30
Nicaragua 135 2.553 120 2.312 66 1.93
DR Congo 124 2.343 121 2.323 122 2.32
Mauritania 117 2.287 122 2.333 127 2.35
Honduras 119 2.288 123 2.341 116 2.27
Bahrain 110 2.209 124 2.357 129 2.40
Myanmar 127 2.424 125 2.393 123 2.32
Niger 138 2.608 126 2.394 132 2.44
South Africa 123 2.317 127 2.399 125 2.33
United States 121 2.307 128 2.401 124 2.33
Saudi Arabia 128 2.443 129 2.409 128 2.38
Azerbaijan 120 2.3 130 2.425 133 2.44
Ethiopia 133 2.526 131 2.434 131 2.42
Zimbabwe 131 2.485 132 2.463 126 2.34
Eritrea 136 2.567 133 2.504 139 2.52
Philippines 129 2.471 134 2.516 138 2.52
Burundi 132 2.506 135 2.520 136 2.50
Egypt 130 2.481 136 2.521 143 2.65
Chad 134 2.538 137 2.522 135 2.49
Cameroon 141 2.65 138 2.538 134 2.47
Iran 142 2.672 139 2.542 130 2.41
Mexico 137 2.572 140 2.600 141 2.64
India 139 2.628 141 2.605 137 2.51
Palestine 143 2.699 142 2.608 140 2.61
Colombia 140 2.646 143 2.661 145 2.72
Venezuela 149 2.936 144 2.671 142 2.64
Mali 144 2.729 145 2.710 144 2.68
Israel 145 2.775 146 2.735 146 2.75
Lebanon 146 2.828 147 2.800 147 2.79
Nigeria 147 2.865 148 2.898 148 2.88
North Korea 151 2.962 149 2.921 150 2.95
Ukraine 148 2.927 150 2.950 152 3.14
Sudan 153 3.043 151 2.995 154 3.17
Turkey 150 2.959 152 3.015 149 2.90
Pakistan 152 2.973 153 3.072 151 3.09
Russia 154 3.049 154 3.093 153 3.16
DR Congo 124 2.343 155 3.218 155 3.24
Libya 157 3.258 156 3.285 157 3.28
Central African Republic 155 3.237 157 3.296 156 3.27
Somalia 158 3.302 158 3.300 159 3.35
Iraq 161 3.487 159 3.369 160 3.43
Yemen 159 3.411 160 3.412 158 3.30
South Sudan 153 3.043 161 3.526 161 3.52
Syria 162 3.539 162 3.566 163 3.59
Afghanistan 163 3.644 163 3.574 162 3.57

Summary

This is the 14th 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 datadriven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies.

The GPI covers 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.

In addition to presenting the findings from the 2020 GPI, this year’s report includes an analysis of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace, including Positive Peace: the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. It examines how the impact of the pandemic, and in particular its economic consequences will increase the risk of severe deteriorations in Positive Peace over the next few years, and also examines which countries are best placed to recover from the shock.

The results this year show that the level of global peacefulness deteriorated, with the average country score falling by 0.34 per cent. This is the ninth deterioration in peacefulness in the last twelve years, with 81 countries improving, and 80 recording deteriorations over the past year. The 2020 GPI reveals a world in which the conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, only to be replaced with a new wave of tension and uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.

Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the second year in a row, followed by Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen. All, except Yemen, have been ranked amongst the five least peaceful since at least 2015.

Only two of the nine regions in the world became more peaceful over the past year. The greatest improvement occurred in the Russia and Eurasia region, followed by North America. North America was the only region to record improvements across all three domains, while Russia and Eurasia recorded improvements in Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security, but a deterioration on the Militarisation domain.

South America and Central America and the Caribbean recorded the largest and second largest deterioration on the 2020 GPI. While South America’s average deterioration in peacefulness was driven by deteriorations on Militarisation and Safety and Security, the fall in peacefulness in Central America and the Caribbean was driven by changes in Ongoing Conflict.

Peacefulness has declined 2.5 percent since 2008 with 81 GPI countries recording a deterioration, and 79 improving. Fifteen of the 23 GPI indicators are less peaceful on average in 2020 when compared to 2008.

Two of the three GPI domains deteriorated over the past decade, with Ongoing Conflict deteriorating by 6.8 per cent and Safety and Security deteriorating by 3.3 per cent. Terrorism and internal conflict have been the biggest contributors to the global deterioration in peacefulness. Ninety-seven countries recorded increased terrorist activity, while only 43 had lower levels of terrorism. However, after peaking in 2014 during the height of the Syrian civil war, total deaths from terrorism have fallen every year for the last five years.

By contrast, the Militarisation domain has recorded a 4.4 per cent improvement since 2008. The number of armed services personnel per 100,000 people has fallen in 113 countries, and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP fell in 100.

This year’s report also looks at the trends in civil unrest over the past decade. It finds that there has been a sharp increase in civil unrest events since 2011, with over 96 countries experiencing at least one violent demonstration in 2019. From 2011 to 2019, the number of riots rose by 282 per cent and general strikes rose by 821 per cent.

Europe had the largest number of protests, riots and strikes over the period, totalling nearly 1,600 events from 2011 to 2018. Sixty-five per cent of the civil unrest events in Europe were nonviolent. Civil unrest in sub-Saharan Africa rose by more than 800 per cent over the period, from 32 riots and protests in 2011 to 292 in 2018.

Download the 2020 GPI report in full