Vision of Humanity"

WHAT IS THE GPI?

The Global Peace Index represents a ground-breaking milestone in the study of peace. It ranks the nations of the world by their peacefulness and identifies some of the drivers of peace.

Most people understand the absence of violence as an indicator of peace. This definition also allows for the measuring of peacefulness within, as well as between, nations. The GPI ranks Independent countries by their ‘absence of violence’ using metrics that combine both internal and external factors.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE PEACE?

The GPI is developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace, in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit and with the guidance of an international team of academics and peace experts.The Index is composed of 23 indicators, ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights. The index has been tested against a range of potential “drivers” or determinants of peace—including levels of democracy and transparency, education and material wellbeing. The team has used the latest available figures from a wide range of respected sources, including the International Institute of Strategic Studies, The World Bank, various UN entities, Peace Institutes and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Click here to read the about the methodology and results of the GPI.

THE IMPACT OF THE GPI
The Global Peace Index is intended to contribute significantly to the public debate on peace.The project’s ambition is to go beyond a crude measure of wars—and systematically explore the texture of peace. The hope is that it will provide a quantitative measure of peacefulness, comparable over time, which will provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms that nurture and sustain peace. This, in turn will provide a new platform for further study and discussion, which will hopefully inspire and influence world leaders and governments to further action.

Read the FAQs for further information.

2012 GPI FINDINGS

The 2012 GPI found that the world has become slightly more peaceful over the last year, bucking a two year trend. All regions apart from the Middle East and North Africa improved on levels of peacefulness. The sixth edition of the GPI was launched with a new interactive map that allows you to explore peace. Find out more about the 2012 GPI.

SUPPORT & GUIDANCE

ENDORSERS

The GPI has a wide variety of endorsers from around the world including Nobel Laureates, Economists, Academics, Humanitarians, Politicians and Royalty.

Endorsers include Mr. Kofi Annan, President Jimmy Carter, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many more.

See the full list of endorsers

INTERNATIONAL EXPERT PANEL
The International Expert Panel agree on the indicators and the weights assigned to them for the Global Peace Index. The panel constantly reassess and develop the methods and measures used in the index, as well as incorporating the socio-economic factors associated with peace. See the list of experts on the International Expert Panel.

GPI REPORTS

Each year when the Global Peace Index is released, an accompanying  discussion paper and a results report are released providing an in depth analysis of the indicators of peace, global trends and the progress or regress of peacefulness at the national and international levels.