Ranking Peace Of The Countries Of The World

When we think of peace we envision harmony and quiet, security and tranquility. Peace is what we have when we are not surrounded by civil disturbances, oppressive thoughts, actions or emotions; when we are in security we have peace.

To try and create the equation that allows us to formulate a meaningful ranking of the “peace” of a nation is not easy.

The choice of data we use to assign a weight across various categories will in some ways predetermine a narrow view of the definition of peace because every nation is built on different values, different cultures, religions and beliefs yet by attempting to classify and rank the countries by a certain peace ranking means we have benchmarks and ideals to strive for, at least in the eyes of the researches compiling their data sets. The ranking of most peaceful countries in the world compiled with the hard work of the Institute for Economics and Peace are based on criteria that includes measurements in over 160 countries in such categories as:

  • Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex
    and age
  • Percentage of the population subjected to physical, psychological or sexual
    violence
  • Proportion of people that feel safe walking alone around the area they live
  • Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population
  • Level of perceived criminality in society
  • Levels of healthy lives and the nations actions to promote well-being for
    all at all ages

WORLD RANKING OF PEACEFUL COUNTRIES
2023 Update

Peace Rank of European Countries Peace
Rank of North, South & Central America & The Caribbean
Peace
Rank of Oceania, Eurasia, Asia Pacific & South Asia
Peace
Rank of The Middle East, North Africa & Sub-Sahara Africa

Country World Peace Rank
Iceland 1
New Zealand 2
Ireland 3
Denmark 4
Austria 5
Portugal 6
Slovenia 7
Czech Republic 8
Singapore 9
Japan 10
Switzerland 11
Canada 12
Hungary 13
Finland 14
Croatia 15
Germany 16
Norway 17
Malaysia 18
Bhutan 19
Slovakia 20
Netherlands 21
Belgium 22
Qatar 23
Bulgaria 24
Poland 25
Sweden 26
Australia 27
Mauritius 28
Spain 29
Taiwan 30
Romania 31
Italy 32
Estonia 33
United Kingdom 34
Latvia 35
North Macedonia 36
Lithuania 37
Costa Rica 38
Kuwait 39
Ghana 40
Albania 41
Mongolia 42
South Korea 43
Vietnam 44
The Gambia 45
Uruguay 46
Indonesia 47
Botswana 48
Montenegro 48
Sierra Leone 50
Laos 51
Serbia 52
Greece 53
Timor-Leste 54
Chile 55
Zambia 56
Jordan 57
Bosnia and Herzegovina 58
Equatorial Guinea 59
United Arab Emirates 60
Panama 61
Cambodia 62
Moldova 62
Oman 64
France 65
Malawi 65
Cyprus 67
Namibia 68
Argentina 69
Senegal 70
Kosovo 71
Rwanda 72
Nepal 73
Morocco 74
Gabon 75
Liberia 75
Paraguay 77
Angola 78
Ecuador 79
Bolivia 80
Dominican Republic 81
Jamaica 81
Armenia 83
Madagascar 84
Tunisia 85
Tanzania 86
Uzbekistan 86
Trinidad and Tobago 88
China 89
Sri Lanka 90
Kyrgyz Republic 91
Tajikistan 92
Eswatini 93
Papua New Guinea 94
Georgia 95
Bangladesh 96
Kazakhstan 97
Cuba 98
Bahrain 99
Lesotho 100
Peru 101
Togo 102
Thailand 103
Turkmenistan 104
Benin 105
Guatemala 106
Guyana 107
Cote d’ Ivoire 108
Algeria 109
Guinea-Bissau 110
Republic of the Congo 111
Mauritania 112
Djibouti 113
El Salvador 114
Haiti 115
Belarus 116
Honduras 117
South Africa 118
Saudi Arabia 119
Kenya 120
Uganda 121
Mozambique 122
Guinea 123
Nicaragua 124
Philippines 125
Egypt 126
Zimbabwe 127
Azerbaijan 128
United States of America 129
Brazil 130
Burundi 131
Eritrea 132
Palestine 133
Israel 134
India 135
Chad 136
Mexico 137
Lebanon 138
Myanmar 139
Niger 140
Iran 141
Cameroon 142
Nigeria 143
Colombia 144
Türkiye 145
Burkina Faso 146
Pakistan 147
Venezuela 148
Ethiopia 149
Mali 150
Libya 151
North Korea 152
Ukraine 153
Sudan 154
Central African Republic 155
Somalia 156
Iraq 157
Democratic Republic of the Congo 158
South Sudan 159
Russia 160
Syria 161
Yemen 162
Afghanistan 163

Peace is a concept that is much like a mandala or a web with a central point radiating outwards. If peace is the central star of our mandala the supporting pillars would be: a well-functioning and honest government, acceptance of the rights of others,
equitable distribution of resources, high levels of human capital, etc. etc.

The list and ranking of peaceful countries is separate from the list and ranking of safe destinations for travel as tourism often showcases the best side of a country. Highly secure tourist areas, resorts, hotels, parks, beaches and tourist attractions
can be very safe even when they are in a country that is not considered as being very peaceful according to this list. It does however, help a traveler analyze the potential location for a safe holiday.

Like an intrinsic cycle, peace, like conflict, can be both virtuous or vicious. Conflict and war can work as a process
where negative feedback is reinforced and vicious cycles of violence can be spawned or perpetuated. Alternatively, as we seek peace, positive feedback loops are where more positive and virtuous cycles are created and perpetuated.

Peace Rank of European Countries Peace
Rank of North, South & Central America & The Caribbean
Peace
Rank of Oceania, Eurasia, Asia Pacific & South Asia
Peace
Rank of The Middle East, North Africa & Sub-Sahara Africa