The world is a more dangerous place today than it was in 2008 according to the latestGlobal Peace Index (GPI) report from the Institute for Economics and Peace.

The ninth edition of the report – the only statistical measure of its kind – makes it possible to rank 162 independent states based on how peaceful they are (or, conversely, how dangerous). The report suggests that globally “levels of peace remained stable over the last year” but are still lower than in 2008.

The 162 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 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.

AN INCREASINGLY DIVIDED WORLD

The index allows for analysis of individual geographical regions. The most significant change in a region was documented in the Middle East and North Africa where several countries have suffered from an upsurge in violence, militarisation and civil unrest.

Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan unsurprisingly are the most dangerous countries in the world. Other deeply fragile states include the African countries of Sudan, Central African Republic, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pakistan and North Korea are the 9th and 10th most dangerous countries in the world.

Europe remained the most peaceful geographical region in the world with the most peaceful countries being Iceland, Denmark and Austria. Fifteen of the 20 most peaceful countries are in Europe.

Since last year, 81 countries have become more peaceful while 78 have deteriorated. The biggest improvements were seen in Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt and Benin while Libya suffered the most severe deterioration, now ranking as the 14th most dangerous country in the world. Ukraine suffered the second-largest deterioration, ranking slightly worse at 13th.

MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

RANK	COUNTRY	SCORE
1	Syria	3.645
2	Iraq	3.444
3	Afghanistan	3.427
4	South Sudan	3.383
5	Central African Republic	3.332
6	Somalia	3.307
7	Sudan	3.295
8	Democratic Republic of the Congo	3.085
9	Pakistan	3.049
10	North Korea	2.977
11	Russia	2.954
12	Nigeria	2.91
13	Ukraine	2.845
14	Libya	2.819
15	Israel	2.781
16	Yemen	2.751
17	Colombia	2.72
18	Lebanon	2.623
19	Mexico	2.53
20	India	2.504
21	Venezuela	2.493
22	Philippines	2.462
23	Chad	2.429
24	Rwanda	2.42
25	Iran	2.409
26	Egypt	2.382
27	South Africa	2.376
28	Turkey	2.363
29	Cameroon	2.349
30	Kenya	2.342
31	Azerbaijan	2.325
32	Burundi	2.323
33	Myanmar	2.323
34	Niger	2.32
35	Mali	2.31
36	Eritrea	2.309
37	Thailand	2.303
38	Zimbabwe	2.294
39	China	2.267
40	El Salvador	2.263
41	Mauritania	2.262
42	Kyrgyz Republic	2.249
43	Guinea-Bissau	2.235
44	Ethiopia	2.234
45	Guatemala	2.215
46	Guinea	2.214
46	Honduras	2.21
48	Republic of the Congo	2.196
49	Sri Lanka	2.188
49	Uzbekistan	2.187
51	Cambodia	2.179
52	Uganda	2.179
53	Belarus	2.173
54	Jamaica	2.153
55	Tajikistan	2.152
56	Bahrain	2.142
57	Turkmenistan	2.138
58	Cote d’ Ivoire	2.133
59	Algeria	2.131
60	Brazil	2.122
61	Djibouti	2.113
62	Swaziland	2.102
63	Dominican Republic	2.089
64	The Gambia	2.086
64	Haiti	2.074
66	Trinidad and Tobago	2.07
67	Papua New Guinea	2.064
68	Saudi Arabia	2.042
69	United States of America	2.038
70	Guyana	2.029
71	Peru	2.029
71	Armenia	2.028
71	Bolivia	2.025
74	Paraguay	2.023
74	Angola	2.02
76	Kazakhstan	2.008
77	Morocco	2.002
78	Bangladesh	1.997
79	Ecuador	1.997
80	Burkina Faso	1.994
81	Cuba	1.988
82	Equatorial Guinea	1.987
83	Mozambique	1.976
84	Georgia	1.973
84	Liberia	1.963
86	Benin	1.958
87	Tunisia	1.952
88	Nicaragua	1.947
89	Oman	1.947
90	Jordan	1.944
91	Macedonia (FYR)	1.944
92	Togo	1.944
92	Moldova	1.942
94	Kosovo	1.938
95	Cyprus	1.924
96	Madagascar	1.911
97	Gabon	1.904
98	Panama	1.903
99	Tanzania	1.903
100	Lesotho	1.891
101	Nepal	1.882
102	Greece	1.878
103	Argentina	1.865
104	Sierra Leone	1.864
105	Timor-Leste	1.86
106	Montenegro	1.854
107	Vietnam	1.848
108	Zambia	1.846
109	Ghana	1.84
110	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.839
111	Albania	1.821
111	Malawi	1.814
113	United Arab Emirates	1.805
114	Senegal	1.805
115	Namibia	1.784
116	Indonesia	1.768
117	Serbia	1.768
118	France	1.742
119	Uruguay	1.721
120	Mongolia	1.706
121	South Korea	1.701
122	Laos	1.7
123	Latvia	1.695
124	United Kingdom	1.685
125	Estonia	1.677
126	Lithuania	1.674
127	Italy	1.669
128	Taiwan	1.657
129	Costa Rica	1.654
130	Kuwait	1.626
130	Bulgaria	1.607
132	Botswana	1.597
133	Qatar	1.568
134	Chile	1.563
135	Malaysia	1.561
136	Croatia	1.55
137	Romania	1.542
138	Mauritius	1.503
139	Singapore	1.49
140	Slovakia	1.478
141	Hungary	1.463
142	Spain	1.451
143	Netherlands	1.432
144	Poland	1.43
145	Bhutan	1.416
146	Norway	1.393
147	Germany	1.379
148	Slovenia	1.378
149	Belgium	1.368
150	Sweden	1.36
151	Ireland	1.354
152	Portugal	1.344
153	Czech Republic	1.341
154	Australia	1.329
155	Japan	1.322
156	Canada	1.287
157	Finland	1.277
158	Switzerland	1.275
159	New Zealand	1.221
160	Austria	1.198
161	Denmark	1.15
162	Iceland	1.148

Download the full Global Peace Index (GPI) report.

(Lead image: © Hrlumanog | Dreamstime)