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Most Peaceful Countries 2024
Each year, the Institute for Economics and Peace releases the Global Peace Index. This is a study of 163 independent nations and territories around the world, comprising approximately 99.7% of the world’s total population, that analyzes which nations are the safest and most peaceful, as well as which are the most dangerous. The GPI evaluates a total of 23 indicators to compile the list, which can be sorted into three distinct categories: militarization, safety and security, and domestic and international conflict. These indicators are then combined into a single Peace Index Score.
Top 20 Most Peaceful Countries in the World
Country | GPI 2023 |
|---|---|
| Iceland | 1.124 |
| Denmark | 1.310 |
| Ireland | 1.312 |
| New Zealand | 1.313 |
| Austria | 1.316 |
| Singapore | 1.332 |
| Portugal | 1.333 |
| Slovenia | 1.334 |
| Japan | 1.336 |
| Switzerland | 1.339 |
As of 2023, the most peaceful country in the world is Iceland. This should come as no surprise to those familiar with the index, as Iceland has taken the top spot for 15 years in a row. Qualities that make it the most peaceful nation on Earth include low crime rates, robust education and welfare systems, fair pay for workers, and virtually non-existent tension among the economic classes.
Denmark (1.310) ranked as the second-most-peaceful country in the 2023 rankings. Denmark ranks particularly well for political stability, freedom of press, income equality, and human rights, all of which contribute to a high level of peacefulness. The third-place rank went to Ireland (1.312), marking the country's third consecutive year in the top 5 most peaceful countries. New Zealand (1.313) dropped slightly to fourth after ranking as the second-most peaceful country worldwide since 2014. As in Iceland, New Zealand's police do not carry personal firearms, as they do not see a need to do so. Violent crime is low in New Zealand. Theft is relatively common, especially (as in most every country in the world) pickpocketing and petty thefts targeting tourists. New Zealand also scores well for earnings, jobs, and education.
The United States, in the wake of a stressed economy, increasing hostile political divisions among its populace, and a still-lingering COVID-19 pandemic, placed 131st with a score of 2.448.
Top 10 Least Peaceful Countries in the World (2023 Global Peace Index Score):
Country | GPI 2023 |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 3.448 |
| Yemen | 3.350 |
| Syria | 3.294 |
| South Sudan | 3.221 |
| DR Congo | 3.214 |
| Russia | 3.142 |
| Ukraine | 3.043 |
| Somalia | 3.036 |
| Sudan | 3.023 |
| Iraq | 3.006 |
- Lower Global Peace Index scores indicate a higher level of peace. Higher scores indicate greater turmoil.
- Because a lower peace index is more desirable than a high one, year-on-year changes that have a negative value are improvements, whereas year-on-year changes with a positive value indicate a decrease in peacefulness and safety.
Country | GPI 2023 | GPI 2022 | GPI 2021 | GPI Change 2021-2022 | GPI Change 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 3.448 | 3.554 | 3.631 | 0.077 | 0.106 |
| Yemen | 3.350 | 3.394 | 3.407 | 0.013 | 0.044 |
| Syria | 3.294 | 3.356 | 3.371 | 0.015 | 0.062 |
| South Sudan | 3.221 | 3.184 | 3.363 | 0.179 | -0.037 |
| DR Congo | 3.214 | 3.166 | 3.196 | 0.030 | -0.048 |
| Russia | 3.142 | 3.275 | 2.993 | -0.282 | 0.133 |
| Ukraine | 3.043 | 2.971 | 2.660 | -0.311 | -0.072 |
| Somalia | 3.036 | 3.125 | 3.211 | 0.086 | 0.089 |
| Sudan | 3.023 | 3.007 | 2.936 | -0.071 | -0.016 |
| Iraq | 3.006 | 3.157 | 3.257 | 0.100 | 0.151 |
| Mali | 2.963 | 2.911 | 2.813 | -0.098 | -0.052 |
| Central African Republic | 2.934 | 3.021 | 3.131 | 0.110 | 0.087 |
| Ethiopia | 2.872 | 2.806 | 2.613 | -0.193 | -0.066 |
| Burkina Faso | 2.868 | 2.786 | 2.527 | -0.259 | -0.082 |
| North Korea | 2.848 | 2.942 | 2.923 | -0.019 | 0.094 |
| Iran | 2.800 | 2.687 | 2.637 | -0.050 | -0.113 |
| Turkey | 2.800 | 2.785 | 2.843 | 0.058 | -0.015 |
| Pakistan | 2.745 | 2.789 | 2.868 | 0.079 | 0.044 |
| Myanmar | 2.741 | 2.631 | 2.457 | -0.174 | -0.110 |
| Nigeria | 2.713 | 2.725 | 2.712 | -0.013 | 0.012 |
| Israel | 2.706 | 2.576 | 2.669 | 0.093 | -0.130 |
| Chad | 2.699 | 2.591 | 2.489 | -0.102 | -0.108 |
| Colombia | 2.693 | 2.729 | 2.694 | -0.035 | 0.036 |
| Venezuela | 2.693 | 2.798 | 2.934 | 0.136 | 0.105 |
| Cameroon | 2.660 | 2.709 | 2.700 | -0.009 | 0.049 |
| Niger | 2.625 | 2.655 | 2.589 | -0.066 | 0.030 |
| Libya | 2.605 | 2.930 | 3.166 | 0.236 | 0.325 |
| Mexico | 2.599 | 2.612 | 2.620 | 0.008 | 0.013 |
| Lebanon | 2.581 | 2.615 | 2.797 | 0.182 | 0.034 |
| Palestine | 2.538 | 2.552 | 2.610 | 0.058 | 0.014 |
| Eritrea | 2.505 | 2.494 | 2.555 | 0.061 | -0.011 |
| Brazil | 2.462 | 2.465 | 2.430 | -0.035 | 0.003 |
| United States | 2.448 | 2.440 | 2.337 | -0.103 | -0.008 |
| South Africa | 2.405 | 2.283 | 2.344 | 0.061 | -0.122 |
| Haiti | 2.395 | 2.254 | 2.151 | -0.103 | -0.141 |
| Burundi | 2.393 | 2.470 | 2.434 | -0.036 | 0.077 |
| Guinea | 2.359 | 2.332 | 2.069 | -0.263 | -0.027 |
| India | 2.314 | 2.578 | 2.553 | -0.025 | 0.264 |
| Uganda | 2.300 | 2.309 | 2.219 | -0.090 | 0.009 |
| Zimbabwe | 2.300 | 2.350 | 2.490 | 0.140 | 0.050 |
| Nicaragua | 2.294 | 2.334 | 2.445 | 0.111 | 0.040 |
| El Salvador | 2.279 | 2.231 | 2.184 | -0.047 | -0.048 |
| Egypt | 2.267 | 2.342 | 2.397 | 0.055 | 0.075 |
| Honduras | 2.265 | 2.269 | 2.371 | 0.102 | 0.004 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2.260 | 2.288 | 2.376 | 0.088 | 0.028 |
| Mozambique | 2.259 | 2.316 | 2.123 | -0.193 | 0.057 |
| Kenya | 2.254 | 2.303 | 2.254 | -0.049 | 0.049 |
| Belarus | 2.248 | 2.259 | 2.285 | 0.026 | 0.011 |
| Philippines | 2.229 | 2.339 | 2.417 | 0.078 | 0.110 |
| Mauritania | 2.228 | 2.193 | 2.290 | 0.097 | -0.035 |
| Republic of the Congo | 2.210 | 2.184 | 2.291 | 0.107 | -0.026 |
| Djibouti | 2.196 | 2.213 | 2.146 | -0.067 | 0.017 |
| Lesotho | 2.191 | 2.089 | 2.202 | 0.113 | -0.102 |
| Benin | 2.177 | 2.125 | 2.093 | -0.032 | -0.052 |
| Eswatini | 2.168 | 2.033 | 1.955 | -0.078 | -0.135 |
| Bahrain | 2.145 | 2.085 | 2.121 | 0.036 | -0.060 |
| Sri Lanka | 2.136 | 2.020 | 2.083 | 0.063 | -0.116 |
| Guyana | 2.134 | 2.140 | 2.114 | -0.026 | 0.006 |
| Peru | 2.130 | 2.091 | 2.034 | -0.057 | -0.039 |
| Guatemala | 2.130 | 2.139 | 2.195 | 0.056 | 0.009 |
| Togo | 2.130 | 2.094 | 2.239 | 0.145 | -0.036 |
| Tajikistan | 2.114 | 2.031 | 2.095 | 0.064 | -0.083 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2.110 | 2.028 | 1.998 | -0.030 | -0.082 |
| Turkmenistan | 2.107 | 2.116 | 2.154 | 0.038 | 0.009 |
| Cuba | 2.103 | 2.083 | 2.042 | -0.041 | -0.020 |
| Ecuador | 2.095 | 1.988 | 2.044 | 0.056 | -0.107 |
| Papua New Guinea | 2.095 | 2.046 | 2.149 | 0.103 | -0.049 |
| Algeria | 2.094 | 2.146 | 2.310 | 0.164 | 0.052 |
| Azerbaijan | 2.090 | 2.437 | 2.334 | -0.103 | 0.347 |
| Georgia | 2.071 | 2.065 | 2.054 | -0.011 | -0.006 |
| Gabon | 2.068 | 1.973 | 2.074 | 0.101 | -0.095 |
| Thailand | 2.061 | 2.098 | 2.205 | 0.107 | 0.037 |
| Tanzania | 2.058 | 2.001 | 1.892 | -0.109 | -0.057 |
| Ivory Coast | 2.053 | 2.144 | 2.123 | -0.021 | 0.091 |
| Bangladesh | 2.051 | 2.067 | 2.068 | 0.001 | 0.016 |
| Rwanda | 2.051 | 1.945 | 2.028 | 0.083 | -0.106 |
| Guinea Bissau | 2.045 | 2.156 | 2.113 | -0.043 | 0.111 |
| Uzbekistan | 2.033 | 2.001 | 2.062 | 0.061 | -0.032 |
| Morocco | 2.020 | 1.969 | 2.015 | 0.046 | -0.051 |
| Angola | 2.020 | 1.982 | 2.017 | 0.035 | -0.038 |
| Dominican Republic | 2.019 | 1.990 | 2.024 | 0.034 | -0.029 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2.013 | 1.863 | 1.915 | 0.052 | -0.150 |
| Tunisia | 2.010 | 1.996 | 2.108 | 0.112 | -0.014 |
| China | 2.009 | 2.010 | 2.114 | 0.104 | 0.001 |
| Nepal | 2.006 | 1.947 | 2.033 | 0.086 | -0.059 |
| Bolivia | 2.001 | 1.989 | 2.140 | 0.151 | -0.012 |
| Jamaica | 1.986 | 1.990 | 1.992 | 0.002 | 0.004 |
| Kazakhstan | 1.980 | 2.071 | 1.936 | -0.135 | 0.091 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1.979 | 1.865 | 1.848 | -0.017 | -0.114 |
| Malawi | 1.970 | 1.895 | 1.909 | 0.014 | -0.075 |
| Cambodia | 1.947 | 1.882 | 2.008 | 0.126 | -0.065 |
| Liberia | 1.946 | 1.973 | 1.998 | 0.025 | 0.027 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1.946 | 2.005 | 2.029 | 0.024 | 0.059 |
| Paraguay | 1.942 | 1.976 | 1.997 | 0.021 | 0.034 |
| Panama | 1.942 | 1.876 | 1.919 | 0.043 | -0.066 |
| France | 1.939 | 1.895 | 1.868 | -0.027 | -0.044 |
| Armenia | 1.929 | 1.992 | 2.075 | 0.083 | 0.063 |
| Serbia | 1.921 | 1.832 | 1.797 | -0.035 | -0.089 |
| Cyprus | 1.904 | 1.903 | 1.912 | 0.009 | -0.001 |
| Zambia | 1.898 | 1.841 | 1.964 | 0.123 | -0.057 |
| Jordan | 1.895 | 1.849 | 1.916 | 0.067 | -0.046 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.892 | 1.850 | 1.970 | 0.120 | -0.042 |
| Greece | 1.890 | 1.838 | 1.932 | 0.094 | -0.052 |
| Gambia | 1.888 | 1.792 | 1.853 | 0.061 | -0.096 |
| Chile | 1.874 | 1.840 | 1.831 | -0.009 | -0.034 |
| Moldova | 1.873 | 1.882 | 1.909 | 0.027 | 0.009 |
| Namibia | 1.859 | 1.908 | 1.927 | 0.019 | 0.049 |
| Madagascar | 1.846 | 1.995 | 1.963 | -0.032 | 0.149 |
| Argentina | 1.837 | 1.911 | 1.945 | 0.034 | 0.074 |
| Indonesia | 1.829 | 1.800 | 1.783 | -0.017 | -0.029 |
| Senegal | 1.827 | 1.916 | 1.864 | -0.052 | 0.089 |
| Ghana | 1.799 | 1.759 | 1.715 | -0.044 | -0.040 |
| Uruguay | 1.798 | 1.795 | 1.817 | 0.022 | -0.003 |
| Timor Leste | 1.796 | 1.839 | 1.873 | 0.034 | 0.043 |
| Oman | 1.794 | 1.889 | 1.982 | 0.093 | 0.095 |
| Sierra Leone | 1.792 | 1.803 | 1.813 | 0.010 | 0.011 |
| Laos | 1.779 | 1.809 | 1.809 | 0.030 | |
| Montenegro | 1.772 | 1.801 | 1.847 | 0.046 | 0.029 |
| Mongolia | 1.765 | 1.775 | 1.783 | 0.008 | 0.010 |
| South Korea | 1.763 | 1.779 | 1.877 | 0.098 | 0.016 |
| Botswana | 1.762 | 1.801 | 1.753 | -0.048 | 0.039 |
| Vietnam | 1.745 | 1.786 | 1.835 | 0.049 | 0.041 |
| Albania | 1.745 | 1.761 | 1.824 | 0.063 | 0.016 |
| Costa Rica | 1.731 | 1.732 | 1.735 | 0.003 | 0.001 |
| North Macedonia | 1.713 | 1.704 | 1.744 | 0.040 | -0.009 |
| United Kingdom | 1.693 | 1.667 | 1.658 | -0.009 | -0.026 |
| Lithuania | 1.671 | 1.724 | 1.689 | -0.035 | 0.053 |
| Kuwait | 1.669 | 1.739 | 1.688 | -0.051 | 0.070 |
| Italy | 1.662 | 1.643 | 1.652 | 0.009 | -0.019 |
| Spain | 1.649 | 1.603 | 1.621 | 0.018 | -0.046 |
| Taiwan | 1.649 | 1.618 | 1.662 | 0.044 | -0.031 |
| Romania | 1.649 | 1.640 | 1.530 | -0.110 | -0.009 |
| Bulgaria | 1.643 | 1.541 | 1.577 | 0.036 | -0.102 |
| Poland | 1.634 | 1.552 | 1.524 | -0.028 | -0.082 |
| Sweden | 1.625 | 1.564 | 1.460 | -0.104 | -0.061 |
| Latvia | 1.582 | 1.673 | 1.686 | 0.013 | 0.091 |
| Slovakia | 1.578 | 1.499 | 1.557 | 0.058 | -0.079 |
| Estonia | 1.563 | 1.662 | 1.612 | -0.050 | 0.099 |
| Norway | 1.550 | 1.465 | 1.438 | -0.027 | -0.085 |
| Mauritius | 1.546 | 1.570 | 1.592 | 0.022 | 0.024 |
| Australia | 1.525 | 1.565 | 1.470 | -0.095 | 0.040 |
| Qatar | 1.524 | 1.533 | 1.605 | 0.072 | 0.009 |
| Belgium | 1.523 | 1.526 | 1.496 | -0.030 | 0.003 |
| Malaysia | 1.513 | 1.471 | 1.515 | 0.044 | -0.042 |
| Hungary | 1.508 | 1.411 | 1.494 | 0.083 | -0.097 |
| Bhutan | 1.496 | 1.481 | 1.510 | 0.029 | -0.015 |
| Netherlands | 1.490 | 1.522 | 1.506 | -0.016 | 0.032 |
| Germany | 1.456 | 1.462 | 1.480 | 0.018 | 0.006 |
| Croatia | 1.450 | 1.440 | 1.480 | 0.040 | -0.010 |
| Finland | 1.399 | 1.439 | 1.402 | -0.037 | 0.040 |
| Czech Republic | 1.379 | 1.318 | 1.329 | 0.011 | -0.061 |
| Canada | 1.350 | 1.389 | 1.330 | -0.059 | 0.039 |
| Switzerland | 1.339 | 1.357 | 1.323 | -0.034 | 0.018 |
| Japan | 1.336 | 1.336 | 1.373 | 0.037 | |
| Slovenia | 1.334 | 1.316 | 1.315 | -0.001 | -0.018 |
| Portugal | 1.333 | 1.301 | 1.267 | -0.034 | -0.032 |
| Singapore | 1.332 | 1.326 | 1.347 | 0.021 | -0.006 |
| Austria | 1.316 | 1.300 | 1.317 | 0.017 | -0.016 |
| New Zealand | 1.313 | 1.269 | 1.253 | -0.016 | -0.044 |
| Ireland | 1.312 | 1.288 | 1.326 | 0.038 | -0.024 |
| Denmark | 1.310 | 1.296 | 1.256 | -0.040 | -0.014 |
| Iceland | 1.124 | 1.107 | 1.100 | -0.007 | -0.017 |
| Total | 2.072 | 2.070 | 2.081 |