Since its inception in 2008, the Global Peace Index (GPI) has indicated a steady decline in global peacefulness. As ‘peace inequality’ continues to grow, the gap between the most, and least, peaceful countries widen to an unprecedented level, marking the largest disparity in the history of the index. According to the 2024 GPI, there has been a disproportionate deterioration in global peacefulness, exacerbated by recent conflicts, including those in Gaza and Ukraine. The GPI notes an average decrease of 4.5% in a country’s peacefulness since the inception of the index in 2008, with 97 countries recording a decline, versus 65 that have improved.
Measuring this decline, the Militarisation and Ongoing Conflict domains recorded significant deterioration, while Safety and Security sustained a slight improvement. Falling by an average of 1.7%, Militarisation experienced the largest decrease in peacefulness since the genesis of the index. The Ongoing Conflict domain deteriorated by 19.1%, with recent surges in internal conflicts and external involvement contributing equally to this decline.
A Closer Look
Despite the 2024 GPI recording Yemen as the least peaceful country in the world, in the past year Israel experienced the largest decrease in peacefulness and Palestine the fourth-largest decline, as the Gaza conflict continued without resolution. Subsequently, Palestine and Israel have experienced the sharpest increases in the economic impact of violence, with costs rising by 63% and 40%, respectively. According to the GPI, Israel’s overall score deteriorated by 10.5%, marking its third consecutive year of declining peacefulness, including ranking 163rd in Militarisation.
Recorded as the least peaceful nation in the world, Somalia ranks among Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Sudan as the nations with the highest economic cost of violence as a percentage of GDP since 2023. It is 155th in the world for Ongoing Conflict and 150th for Safety and Security.
Measuring peacefulness has become more complex with the significant shift in international relations. A host of middle powers, including Türkiye, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Israel, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria, are more actively engaging in global affairs and pursuing their own interests. This growth in multipolarity has contributed to the limitation of Western powers in their capacity and inclination to intervene, shown by the failed peacebuilding attempts in Ukraine and Gaza, which have politically and militarily engulfed the US and European powers.
Regionally, Mali ranks 42nd of 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In areas such as this, the influence of traditional powers is decreasing, as France has withdrawn from Mali as well as Niger. Mali scored highly in Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security domains, although it performed proportionately well in terms of Militarisation. The indicators flagged when measuring the level of peacefulness in Mali centre around high rates of crime, including organised and violent crime and homicides; as well as, political instability and terror, including acts of terrorism.
Israel experienced the largest decrease in peacefulness, despite not occupying the position of least peaceful country in the world. The deterioration can be credited to the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestine. These two nations have experienced the sharpest increases in the economic impact of violence, with costs rising by 63% and 40%, respectively. According to the GPI, Israel’s overall score deteriorated by 10.5%, marking its third consecutive year of declining peacefulness. Israel ranks as the least peaceful country in the world in the Militarisation domain.
Syria ranks 161st least peaceful in the Ongoing Conflict domain and is the 18th least peaceful country in MENA, of the 20th countries included in this region. Syria has recorded the largest deterioration in the perceptions of criminality indicator, where the percentage of people who felt unsafe rose from 12% to 58%. In 2023, over half of all the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate were from Syria, ultimately displacing 56.7% of the population. The country has also ranked poorly due to the number of casualties sustained from internal conflict, with at least 400,000 people recorded as dead since the onset of the civil war.
Ranking at 160th in the Militarisation domain, Russia and Eurasia was the only region to improve its levels of peacefulness on average over the last year. However, recent conflict with Ukraine has deteriorated peacefulness in both nations and has resulted in many European countries reassessing their level of military spending and general combat readiness. In the Russia and Eurasia region, Russia is the second lowest country for levels of peacefulness.
Recorded at 160th for the Ongoing Conflict domain, and 159th in the Safety and Security domain, the DRC is the second least peaceful nation in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The eastern DRC has been engulfed in conflict for decades, leading to the displacement of at least 5.6 million people and an associated humanitarian crisis. Ultimately, this consistently high level of warfare has contributed significantly to its sustained low ranking.
The conflict in Ukraine is a significant driver of the deterioration of global peacefulness, and the largest contributor to the globally increasing economic cost of violence. Ukraine has experienced the greatest increase in military expenditure and has deteriorated significantly in the Militarisation domain due to this recent conflict, although it also experienced significant improvements in the Safety and Security domain due to the limitations placed on the level of violent demonstrations that could be enacted.
Ranked 161st in Safety and Security, Afghanistan is among the three highest contributors of the global economic costs of violence in 2023. It is the least peaceful country in the South Asia region and has deteriorated in both Militarisation and Safety and Security domain. However, the nation has experienced minor improvements in specific indicators, including the number of deaths from internal conflicts which has fallen from over 18,000 in 2017 to less than 350 in 2023, and it is no longer the country ranked the highest in the terrorism impact indicator.
South Sudan is the least peaceful country in the Safety and Security domain and the least peaceful state in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The nation has experienced minor improvements in peacefulness over the last year in the Ongoing Conflict and Militarisation domains, exhibited in the number of deaths from internal conflict indicator, which fell by 73%. However, the security situation remains fraught, and the economic impact of this ongoing crisis is dire.
Sudan is the second least peaceful nation in the MENA region. It is the lowest-ranking nation in the Ongoing Conflict domain due to increasing regional unrest. There have been significant deteriorations in this domain, including the deaths from internal conflict, deaths from external conflict, and neighbouring country relations indicators. It ranks among the highest contributors to a globally increasing economic cost of violence with Ukraine, Afghanistan and North Korea, and it is facing the world’s largest refugee crisis, with over 10 million people reportedly displaced and suffering human rights atrocities. The world’s largest refugee crisis, with over 10 million people reportedly displaced and suffering human rights atrocities.
Yemen is the lowest ranking country for levels of peacefulness in the world, yet it is only the second lowest in the Safety and Security domain. It is the least peaceful nation in the MENA region and has suffered ongoing humanitarian crises due to ongoing conflict. It has suffered deteriorations on violent demonstrations, political instability, and neighbouring countries relations indicators due to worsening living conditions and rising social unrest. This internal strife has been exacerbated by the adjacent regional conflicts, such as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Eight of the nine regions have deteriorated in peacefulness in the past year. The 2024 GPI recorded North America as having the largest deterioration, on average, of all the regions.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful in the world, with four of the ten least peaceful countries, including Sudan and Yemen, occupying the bottom two positions. This region experienced the largest deterioration in peacefulness in the Ongoing Conflict domain, which declined by 1.6%. Key indicators in this domain, such as deaths from internal and external conflicts and relations between neighbouring countries, worsened significantly, driven by the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan and the associated regional unrest. The Militarisation domain recorded a small improvement, although there was a significant deterioration in military expenditure (% of GDP). The MENA region has a higher average military expenditure than any other region.
Militarisation recorded the largest deterioration in the 2024 GPI, with individual scores dropping by an average of 1.7% in each country. This is the most significant decline since the introduction of the GPI. Leading this increase, Israel recorded the lowest position, followed with some disparity by North Korea and the US. The primary driver of the decline in Militarisation was military spending, as 86 countries increased their expenditure over the past year.
The Ongoing Conflict domain also worsened by 19.1%, as internal conflicts remained widespread, and external involvement in conflicts surged globally. In this domain, Sudan ranks the lowest and is followed closely by Ukraine and Syria. The 2024 GPI recorded a dramatic rise in global conflict, with increased deaths from internal conflicts in 57 countries, 15 of which experienced over 1,000 such deaths. External involvement in conflicts has escalated sharply, rising from 59 countries in 2008 to 100 since 2023. Although violent demonstrations showed a slight improvement, they still affected 152 countries, highlighting their persistent global impact. Meanwhile, military spending grew at its fastest rate since the index’s inception, driven largely by the conflict in Ukraine, further exacerbating the overall decline in global peace.
In the Safety and Security domain, South Sudan ranked lowest globally at 163rd, maintaining its position closely followed by Yemen. Despite a modest improvement in peacefulness over the past year, South Sudan remains the least peaceful country in the region. The number of deaths from internal conflict dropped by 73%, from 723 in 2022 to 199 in 2023. Although South Sudan showed progress in both the Militarisation and Ongoing Conflict domains, its security situation remains precarious.
According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, the future of global peacefulness remains uncertain, with ongoing conflicts and militarisation driving further deterioration. As peace inequality continues to grow, the divide between the most and least peaceful countries has reached its widest point in history. Recent conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Ukraine, have significantly exacerbated global unrest, contributing to increased deaths from internal conflict and heightened external involvement in warfare. Militarisation has seen the steepest decline, with rising military expenditures fueling this trend. As international relations grow more complex, particularly with the rise of middle powers, the ability of Western nations to mediate global conflicts is diminishing, further complicating the outlook for global peace.
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The 2024 Global Peace Index reveals the most peaceful countries in the world.
There are currently 56 conflicts, the most since World War II. They have become more international with 92 countries involved in conflicts outside...
Identifying and measuring the factors that drive peace
Identifying and measuring the factors that drive peace
