BAHRAIN ranked 74th worldwide and 10th in the region in the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2008, it emerged yesterday.

The Index, which ranks 140 countries according to their peacefulness, was compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

It used a range of 24 indicators measuring internal and external peacefulness of nations.

According to the report, Bahrain has moved down eight places compared with the inaugural GPI last year.

In the Middle East region, Bahrain ranks 10th ahead of Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Lebanon among others.

In the GCC, it ranked fifth, ahead of Saudi Arabia.

Worldwide, Iceland tops the ranking of the world's most peaceful while Angola, Indonesia and India are among the countries which moved up.

"Most countries in the world are performing better against key measures of peacefulness compared with last year, according to the figures," says the report.

It says policymakers should focus more on education, wealth and well functioning government to secure a greater peace dividend.

"There should also be the crucial role of business in forging stability," said the report.

Countries in Scandinavia have also emerged as among the most peaceful, with Denmark stood second and Norway third.

New Zealand (4) and Japan (5) - the only member of the G8 in the top 10 - complete the highest ranked.

GPI founder Steve Killelea said the world appears to be a marginally more peaceful place this year.

"This is encouraging, but it takes small steps by individual countries for the world to make greater strides on the road to peace," he said.

Small, stable and democratic countries are the most peaceful, said Mr Killelea, adding that 16 of the top 20 are western or central European democracies.