Ranking of the most “peaceful” countries in the world

Iceland is still the most peaceful country on the planet, according to the result of the 2023 index of the Institute for Economics and Peace, a think-tank based in Australia which publishes its ranking of the most “peaceful” countries each year.

Iceland has been at the top of the rankings since the very first publication of the index in 2008. This year, the rest of the podium is made up of Denmark and Ireland. Next come New Zealand, Austria, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan and Switzerland.

At the bottom of the ranking, we find in particular the Central African Republic (152nd), Mali (153rd), Ukraine (157th), Russia (158th) or Afghanistan (163rd).

To achieve this result, the think-tank relies on various “quantitative and qualitative” indicators divided into three areas: “the level of safety and security” (terrorism, homicides, etc.), “the extent of conflicts national and international forces” (civil war, conflict with another country, etc.) and the “degree of militarization” (defence budget, number of soldiers, nuclear armament, etc.).

Overall, the average level of peace in countries deteriorated by 0.42% in the 2023 World Peace Index. This is the ninth consecutive year that world peace has deteriorated.