World's safest and unsafest countries revealed in Global Peace Index - and UK and USA are surprisingly low
The world's safest country has been named but global peace levels have deteriorated since last year, according to the latest Global Peace Index.
The 2025 Index, created by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), also finds that the world is undergoing 'a fundamental reshaping of the global order'.
Researchers record 59 active state-based conflicts, the most since the end of WWII, with 100 countries becoming less peaceful than they were a decade ago.
Countries are ranked based on both internal peace indicators, such as the level of violent crime, the number of murders and violent demonstrations, and external peace indicators such as military expenditure, number of nuclear weapons and relations with neighbouring countries.
Iceland tops the ranking again as the world's most peaceful country in 2025, a title it has held since 2008.
Ireland takes second place for peace, while New Zealand, Austria and Switzerland also make the top five.
Singapore lands just outside the top five with the rest of the top 10 made up of European countries - Portugal, Denmark, Slovenia and Finland.
The UK ranks as the 30th most peaceful country in the world and has risen two places in the index since 2024.
The USA lands at the bottom end of the ranking, falling to place 128 out of 163 countries. Although its score did not change this year, the report notes that the country is facing 'rising political tensions and increasing polarisation'.
Russia is rated the world's least peaceful country with Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen all in the bottom five.
Western and Central Europe is the most peaceful region in the world but the researchers warn that 'Europe's security environment is undergoing a profound transformation'.
They claim that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and 'diminishing US strategic focus' on Europe has meant that European countries are 'increasingly diverting funds' from areas such as education and healthcare towards 'military expenditure'.
The researchers add: 'The Russian threat is real and no individual European country comes close to Russia's military capability.'
The Middle East and North African region remains the world's least peaceful area in 2025. Meanwhile Sub-Saharan Africa has the most countries engaged in conflict, with 35 of 43 nations involved in a conflict in the last five years.
According to the IEP, Kashmir, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria are the regions that are at highest risk of entering a major war.
South America is the only region to improve on its peacefulness scores since last year's index.
The number of countries that are considered to have 'global influence' has also risen, with 34 nations considered to have 'significant geopolitical influence' in at least one other country.
That's a huge increase since the end of the Cold War, when just 13 countries were considered to hold that much influence.
China has seen the biggest increase in influence since the Cold War but Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, the UAE, Israel, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia are also recorded as being 'influential regional powers'.
Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman at the IEP, says: 'The concept of "forever wars" is more real than at any stage in history.
'This year's Global Peace Index shows that the world is at a critical inflection point. This is driven by rising middle-level powers, major power competition, and unsustainable levels of debt burdens in the world's most fragile countries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Lives Less Ordinary Meeting the monster: My 14 days with Joseph Kony
In Judith Obina Okumu's imagination, Joseph Kony was a monster. As leader of the Lord's Resistance Army he'd fought a decades-long war against the government of Yoweri Museveni – displacing and destroying hundreds of thousands of lives across Northern Uganda in the process. But one day, a visit from a stranger would challenge Judith to face her fears. In her role as assistant private secretary to President Museveni, Judith was introduced to Joseph Kony's mother, Nora Anek. After three years of gaining her trust, Judith asked Nora if she would go to meet her son at his forest hideout and persuade him to engage with peace talks. What Judith didn't know was that the President wanted her to go too. She was convinced it was the last journey she'd ever make. But after 14 days of talks, Judith and Nora helped broker peace in Northern Uganda. Lives Less Ordinary is a weekly podcast from the BBC World Service that seeks out the most incredible true stories from around the world. Step into someone else's life and expect the unexpected. Each episode, a guest shares their most intimate and defining personal story. Listen for real-life accounts, unbelievable twists, and inspiring journeys, which prove just how extraordinary the human experience can be. Lives Less Ordinary is brought to you by the team behind Outlook, the home of human storytelling on the BBC World Service for nearly 60 years. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@ or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Anna Lacey
The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffers lower right leg injury in Game 7 of NBA Finals
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Iran war live: Trump floats regime change to ‘make Iran great again' as region braces for Iranian response to US strikes
Update: Date: 2025-06-23T00:32:00.000Z Title: Opening summary Content: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the US and Israeli war on Iran. US president Donald Trump has brought up the possibility of regime change in Iran following US military strikes against key Iran military sites over the weekend, even as top members of his administration insisted the US was not seeking to topple the Iranian leadership. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. Earlier, vice-president JD Vance had insisted the US was 'not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear programme' while US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that that the US was 'not looking for war in Iran'. The world was meanwhile braced for Iran's response after to the US attacks, which saw it joining Israel in the biggest western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. Speaking in Istanbul, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses. There would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated, he said. 'The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force,' he said. He later flew to Moscow to discuss 'common threats' with President Vladimir Putin. In other key developments: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is very close to meeting its goals in Iran of removing the threats of ballistic missiles and the nuclear programme. Speaking to Israeli reporters, he said: 'We won't pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won't finish too soon. When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop.' The UK, France and Germany have released a joint statement following American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that they call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program. The three countries also urged Iran 'not to take any further action that could destabilize the region', adding: 'We have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security.' Iran's health ministry said that the US strikes on its nuclear facilities had wounded an unspecified number of people but that none 'showed any signs of radioactive contamination'. 'For years, the ministry of health has set up nuclear emergency units in the nearest medical facilities to nuclear sites,' ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said on X. Israel said that its fighter jets had struck 'dozens' of targets across Iran on Sunday, including a long-range missile site in Yazd in the centre of the country for the first time, Agence France Presse reports. A military statement said that 'approximately 30 IAF (air force) fighter jets struck dozens of military targets throughout Iran' - including 'the 'Imam Hussein' Strategic Missile Command Center in the Yazd area, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles were stored'. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that 'there are no planned military operations right now against Iran.' In a new interview with CBS, Rubio added that 'no one will know for days' whether Iran had moved some of its nuclear materials prior to the strikes. Iran's parliament has reportedly approved the closing of the key strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Reuters reported Iran's supreme national security council will make the final decision on the move, which could hamstring global trade by shutting the narrow passage between Iran and Oman. Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, said the impact of the air strikes was still being assessed, but that the bombing had hit the areas that had been identified in the planning of the operation. Hegseth said: 'The battle damage assessment is ongoing, but our initial assessment as the chairman said is that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike, and had the desired effect.' Pete Hegseth praised Donald Trump's leadership, and said he had overseen the 'obliteration' of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Hegseth said: 'Many presidents have dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran's nuclear program, and none could until President Trump.'
