Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. The GPI covers 99.7% of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains:

– the level of Societal Safety and Security,

– the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict,

– and the degree of Militarisation.

This year’s results show that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.07%.

This is the ninth deterioration in peacefulness in the last thirteen years, with 87 countries improving, and 73 recording deteriorations; however, the change in score is the second smallest in the history of the index.

The 2021 Global Peace Index report reveals a world in which the conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, only to be replaced with a new wave of tension and uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising tensions between many of the major powers.

• Since 2008, the level of global peacefulness has deteriorated by 2%, with 75 countries recording a deterioration, while 86 improved.

• The average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated for nine of the past 13 years.

• The gap between the least and most peaceful countries continues to grow. Since 2008, the 25 least peaceful countries declined on average by 12.1%, while the 25 most peaceful countries improved by 4.3%.

• Conflict in the Middle East has been the key driver of the global deterioration in peacefulness since 2008.

• Of the three GPI domains, two recorded a deterioration, while one improved. Ongoing Conflict deteriorated by 6.2% and Safety and Security deteriorated by 2.5%. However, Militarisation improved by 4.2%.

• The improving trend in Militarisation was widespread, with 111 of the 163 countries covered in the GPI improving. 87 countries reduced their military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, although military spending increased in absolute terms.

Read more: Global Peace Index 2021 Summary and key findings

• The average level of global peacefulness deteriorated 0.34 per cent on the 2020 GPI. This is the ninth time in the last 12 years that global peacefulness has deteriorated.
• In the past year 80 countries recorded deteriorations in peacefulness, while 81 recorded improvements.
• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remained the world’s least peaceful region.
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, although it recorded a slight deterioration in peacefulness.
• Peacefulness improved on average on the Militarisation domain, but deteriorated on both the Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security domains.
• The global economic impact of violence was $14.5 trillion PPP in 2019, equivalent to 10.6 per cent of global GDP or $1,909 per person.