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Iceland is the No. 1 most peaceful country in the world

Einar Örn Ævarsson

21. júl. 2023

Iceland has remained the most peaceful country in the world since the study was first released in 2008.


The 17th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI) ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the 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 163 countries comprising 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources. It 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.

In addition to discussing the findings from the 2023 GPI, the report includes an analysis of current conflicts and potential future conflicts. It also examines the likely economic impact of a Chinese blockade of Taiwan on the global economy.


This year’s results found that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.42 per cent. This marks the thirteenth deterioration in peacefulness in the last fifteen years, with 84 countries showing improvement and 79 countries deteriorating in peacefulness in 2022.


Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It shares the top position on the index with Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria. On the other hand, Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All these countries, with the exception of Ireland, have consistently been ranked among the ten most peaceful or least peaceful countries, highlighting the stability of peacefulness at both ends of the Index.

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