Global Peace Index

Global Peace Index (GPI) is a report produced by the Australia-based NGO Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) which measures the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness.^[2] The GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories (collectively accounting for 99.7 per cent of the world's population) according to their levels of peacefulness. In the past decade, the GPI has presented trends of increased global violence and less peacefulness.^[3]

The GPI is developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Index was first launched in May 2009, with subsequent reports being released annually. In 2015 it ranked 165 countries, up from 121 in 2007. The study was conceived by Australian technology entrepreneur Steve Killelea, and is endorsed by individuals such as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari.^{[citation needed]} The updated index is released each year at events in London, Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations Secretariat in New York City.

The 2024 GPI indicates Iceland, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark, Slovenia and Malaysia to be the most peaceful countries, while Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Palestine, Myanmar and Afghanistan to be the least peaceful.^[4] Findings of the 2024 GPI indicate a less peaceful world over the last 16 years, a 6 per cent deterioration in the global level of peace over the last 16 years, and a growing inequality in peace between the most and least peaceful countries.

Ten indicators broadly assess what might be described as safety and security in society. Their assertion is that low crime rates, minimal incidences of terrorist acts and violent demonstrations, harmonious relations with neighbouring countries, a stable political scene, and a small proportion of the population being internally displaced or refugees can be suggestive of peacefulness.^[5]