Global Peace Index 2019: India’s ranking slips to 141, Bangladesh and Bhutan are more peaceful than India

Despite tall claims about India being a shantipriya desh (peace loving country), it’s ranking in the Global Peace Index has slipped down.

As per a report released by the Australian think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India’s ranking in global peace index has slipped five places to 141 among 163 countries.

While Iceland remains the most peaceful country, Afghanistan is the least peaceful nation, according to the report.

In 2018, India ranked at 136th among 163 countries.

IEP ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains -- the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

In South Asian countries, Bhutan topped the index with 15th rank, followed by Sri Lanka 72, Nepal 76 and Bangladesh 101. Terror-ridden Pakistan has been ranked 153rd on the index.

As per the report, Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It is joined at the top of the Global Peace Index (GPI) by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.

Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq comprise the remaining five least peaceful countries.

India, Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan are the nine countries with the highest risk of multiple climate hazards, highlighted the report.

India has the 7th highest overall natural hazard score, the report's findings said.

India, the US, China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are the top five countries with the largest total military expenditure, it added.

According to the report, South Asia’s score for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than the global average, with four out of six deteriorating last year.

Pakistan, India and Afghanistan have improved only in the deaths from internal conflict with fewer fatalities than the previous year.

While global peacefulness improved for the first time in five years, as per the index findings, the world remains less peaceful than a decade ago.

This year’s report includes new research on the possible effects of climate change on peace. Since 2008, global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78 per cent, the report revealed.

The GPI was founded by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.

“Clearly it is good news that state sponsored terror has declined markedly over the last decade, with 62 countries improving their scores while only 42 deteriorated. However, incarceration shows the opposite trend with 95 countries increasing the incarceration rate compared to 65 that improved,” Killelea said.