Release of the 2012 Global Peace
Index & Inaugural Positive Peace Index
This year the US ranked 88th in the GPI, but ranks 16th
in PPI; Iceland Ranks #1 GPI
Donn,
recently, the Institute
of Economics and Peace (IEP) released the annual 2012
Global Peace Index (GPI), and also the inaugural report on
the Positive Peace Index (PPI), which aims to incite
optimism in the analysis of global peace measurements.
While the GPI measures the “absence of violence and absence
of the fear of 
violence”
using socio-economic and statistical indicators of interior
and exterior conflict as well as the degree of social security
and militarization, the PPI helps broaden our understanding of
international peace by monitoring “formal and informal
institutions that move a society away from violence and
towards peace,” such as the quality of business
environment, the corruption level of the government, the
availability of education, and the flow of information and
resources.
Together, these reports give a
comprehensive view of how 158 nations compare and interact
dynamically to create a quilted fabric of peace
advancement. Read
the full report and explore the Interactive GPI Global
Map
Key
Findings of GPI:
- Overall, the world has
become more peaceful for the first time in three years.
One-hundred-and-one improved their GPI scores this year, while
all regions of the world have become more peaceful with the
exception of the Middle East and North Africa.
- If
25% of the global violence level went down, it would add an
additional $2.25 trillion to the global economy. Despite
popular notions of the positive impact of war industries on
economy, studies show that violence is a significant drain on
global fiscal resources.
- This year the US scored
88 out of 158 in the GPI, missing the median mark by 9
points. For a nation of high economic affluence, the ratio of
citizens in jail remains remarkably high. The fairly low rank
comes mainly from high levels of militarization. Data shows,
however, that the US has been on a steady climb towards
peace since 2007.
- For the second consecutive year,
Iceland is ranked the most peaceful nation. Studies
show that the ratio of citizens who are in jail is a mere 47
per 100,000, proving to be one of the lowest in the
world.
- For the second consecutive year, Somalia is
ranked the least peaceful nation. Over 20% of the
population is displaced due to internal conflicts and unstable
government, while famine and poor infrastructure make the
country a fertile ground for internal violence.
- Statistics reveal a “tipping
point” for nations with low levels of conflict, at which even
small steps taken towards peace-making leave a lasting and
significant impact on the further reduction of
violence.
- Calculations indicate that by
excluding the increases in US military expenditure from the
past decade, the global military expenditure would have
fallen. Although overall, there was a decline in the
level of militarization from 2009 and it was one of the top
five indicators that improved from the year previous.
-
Sri Lanka saw the greatest improvement in the GPI scale,
rising nearly 30 ranks at the conclusion of their civil war.
After two decades of civil war, the defeat of terrorist
organization Tamil Tigers in 2009 led to a significant drop in
the number of deaths due to internal struggle.
- Syria
fell by the widest margin of 30 places, largely due to its
descent into civil war. The UN estimated that by March of
2012, over 9,000 Syrians men, women, and children had lost
their lives in the civil conflict.
- While most
indicators of international violence have dropped, the “level
of perceived criminality in society” revealed a significant
rise. Over the last 6 years, the level of external peace
has improved while internal peace has in turn
worsened.
- There remains a significant gap between
democracy and other forms of government. According to the GPI,
even a flawed democracy scores better than various forms of
authoritarian regime.
- According to the GPI, the top
five biggest fallers are all Arab Spring countries. This stems
largely from the instability and upheaval of various regime
changes that led to an increase in violent protests.
-
Terrorism is one of the most predominant sources of conflict
since 2001. Although the best area of improvement is given to
the decline in political terror scale, non-state actors
continue to pose threats to the global community.
Key Findings of
PPI:
- The United States scores
16th out of 158 in the Positive Peace Index.
- The top five ranking nations
are all Nordic, in the order of Sweden, Norway, Finland,
Denmark, and Iceland.
- Of the ten lowest ranking
nations, a majority are from the Sub-Saharan African nations,
the last five of which are Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Cote
d’Ivoire, and Zimbabwe. These nations also correlate with the
the least equitable distribution of resources and availability
of education.
- The only indicator for which
the North American Region does not score the highest score is
the Good Relations with Neighbours.
Read
the full report and explore the Interactive GPI Global
Map
In Peace,
Sato Matsui, Pammie Shapiro
and the
Peace Alliance team...
