Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace has released its Global Peace Index 2018 which ranks 163 countries according to their "level of peacefulness," based on 23 indicators related to three dimensions:
- Social safety and security
- Ongoing domestic and international conflict
- Militarization
They find the world overall to be 0.27% less peaceful than it was in 2017, with 92 countries (56%) deemed less peaceful.
Tourismwise, countries that are red or tan on the map above are iffy.
Regionwise, Europe is rated most peaceful, Middle East & North Africa least.
The 5 countries rated most peaceful are:
- Iceland
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Portugal
- Denmark
Syria is rated least-peaceful, followed by Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia.
USA is ranked at #121, but at least up a point from 2017.
Countries with "very high peace" had on average 3X the per capita GDP growth of those with "very low peace."
Go here for the full report.
