Ireland has been ranked as the 10th most peaceful country in the world in a survey carried out by researchers in Australia.
The Global Peace Index ranks 163 countries and independent states according to their level of peacefulness.
It’s compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace and claims to be the world’s leading index of its kind.
It covers 99.7% of the world’s population and measures the state of peace in three areas: the level of Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation.
The researchers found that: “The global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27% in the last year, marking the fourth successive year of deteriorations.
Ninety-two countries deteriorated, while 71 countries improved.
“The 2018 GPI reveals a world in which the tensions, conflicts, and crises that emerged in the past decade remain unresolved, especially in the Middle East, resulting in a gradual, sustained fall in peacefulness.
“Underlying the fall in peacefulness, six of the nine regions in the world deteriorated in the last year.
“The four most peaceful regions – Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America – all recorded deteriorations, with the largest overall deterioration occurring in South America, owing to falls in the Safety and Security domain, mainly due to increases in the incarceration rate and impact of terrorism.”
The index lists Iceland as the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held for the last 10 years.
“New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark also sit in the top five most peaceful rankings. Syria remains the least peaceful country in the world, a position it has held for the past five years.”
Ireland ranked 10 on the list, Canada was 7, Australia 12, the United Kingdom 41, the United States 114.
Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling
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