Mauritius is most peaceful African country, South Sudan the least peaceful in Africa
A new report by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) has ranked the most peaceful countries in the world. The 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI), yesterday, presented its rankings for 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness in webinar monitored by The Guardian.
The most peaceful country in the world in 2023 is Iceland, which has held this position since 2008. Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria, round out the top five most peaceful countries.
The least peaceful country in the world in 2023 is Afghanistan, which has held this position for the eighth consecutive year. Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are the other four least peaceful countries. Russia, Ukraine, Somalia, Sudan and Iraq make up the number for the 10 least peaceful countries.
According to the report, the 10 most peaceful countries in the world are Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan and Switzerland.
For Africa, the 10 most peaceful countries on the continent are Mauritius with overall rank of 23, Botswana with rank of 42, Sierra Leone with overall rank of 47, Ghana with overall rank of 51, Senegal with rank of 52, Madagascar with rank of 55, Namibia with rank of 56, The Gambia with overall rank of 59, Zambia with rank of 63, and Liberia with rank of 72.
The African 10 least peaceful countries are: South Sudan, with ranking of 160, DRC with rank of 159, Somalia with rank of 156, Sudan with rank of 155, Mali with rank of 153, Central African Republic with rank of 152, Ethiopia with rank of 151, Burkina Faso with rank of 150, Nigeria with rank of 144, and Chad with rank of 142. Nigeria ranked 141 last year and ropped three places to finish at 144 this year.
The 17th edition of the GPI presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis of peace trends, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies.
According to the report, over the last 15 years, the world has become less peaceful, with the average country score deteriorating by five per cent.
Of the 163 countries in the GPI, 95 recorded deteriorations, while 66 recorded improvements, and two recorded no change in score. Sixteen of the 23 GPI indicators deteriorated between 2008 and 2023, while eight improved.
The GPI is a composite index produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and is grouped into three domains: Societal safety and security (measuring the level of violence and crime in a country, as well as the extent of political instability; Ongoing domestic and international conflict (measuring the number of ongoing conflicts in a country, as well as the intensity of those conflicts) and Militarisation (measuring the size and spending of a country’s military).
