The 2014 Global Peace Index, compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, provides a ranking of over 160 countries according to their peacefulness.
The index includes 22 country-specific indicators such as dealing with external or internal conflicts, organized crime, refugees, political instability, terrorism, homicides, incarceration levels, police and military personnel levels, and the prevalence of weapons.
The main findings of the index are that: peace is correlated to indicators such as income, schooling, and regional integration; peaceful countries often share high levels of government transparency and low government corruption; and small, stable countries involved in regional blocs are most likely to rank higher.
The report backs up its methodology, stating: “Using a combination of models, it was possible to forecast deteriorations in peace based on 2008 data for 27 out of 30 countries where peace had deteriorated by 2014. The model was also able to identify, on average, 70% of the countries which experienced the ten largest deteriorations in peace using a two-year window since 2006.”
According to the report, overall global peacefulness has been on a constant decline since 2008. Europe, again, ranks as the most peaceful region, with 14 of the top 20 countries, while the United States doesn’t even make the top 100, sitting at 101st.
Global violence has significant monetary costs. The global economic impact of violence, according to the report, reached US$9.8 trillion in 2013—twice the value of Africa’s total GDP or 11.3% of global GDP.
The overall rankings may or may not come as a surprise to some. Here is a snippet of the findings:
3. New Zealand
11. Czech Republic
47. United Kingdom
80. Saudi Arabia
95. Dominican Republic
101. United States of America
116. El Salvador
153. North Korea
160. South Sudan
Source: 2014 Global Peace Index