1 / 101. Iceland | Iceland claimed the top spot for the most peaceful country for the 18th year in a row. The NATO member with the smallest population also enjoys record-low crime rates. Still, the region recorded a deterioration in peacefulness of 0.57% over the past year, primarily due to a deterioration in the militarisation domain. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 102. Ireland | Not only the second most peaceful nations, but Ireland is also one of the wealthiest, most developed countries in the world. The Irish Republic is also routinely ranked as one of the safest countries in the world. (Image: Shutterstock)
3 / 103. New Zealand | New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the Asia-Pacific region and third in the world. With a near perfect score in the domains of societal safety and domestic and international conflict, it recorded a 3.1% improvement in peacefulness. (Image: Reuters)
4 / 104. Austria | With a population of about just 9 million people, Austria performs well in many measures of well-being like income, jobs and housing. However, despite being the fourth most peaceful country, it saw one of the largest deteriorations in peacefulness in Europe as terrorism impact indicator got worse. Social tensions around anti-migrant campaigns have grown in the recent years. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 105. Switzerland | Bollywood’s favorite filming destination, Switzerland has an exceptionally high degree of safety in society, political stability, and nearly nonexistent international conflict. It is also known for embracing religious and linguistic diversity. Surprisingly, Switzerland is also among the world’s top weapons exporters per capita in the world.
(Image: Canva)
6 / 106. Singapore | Singapore has climbed its way to become the sixth most peaceful countries from being ranked 22 in 2008 and breaking into the top 10 spot in 2019. It scores highly in societal safety and security while high level militarisation, necessary to maintain its seaborne trade for its prosperity, drags their peacefulness score.
7 / 107. Portugal | Portugal has been quick in making its way to the top 10 most peaceful countries, up from the eighth spot last year and 18th spot in 2014. The country of just 10 million people ranked above the industrialised nations’ average in terms of housing, work-life balance, personal security and environmental quality, among others. (Image: Reuters)
8 / 108. Denmark | For the first time, Denmark — ranked 8th — lost its streak of consistently featuring in the top five most peaceful countries in the Global Peace Index since 2008. However, the good news is that its drop is to do with other countries’ improvements than a significant decline in its score. The country has a high degree of political stability, freedom of the press, and respect for human rights, along with a high level of income equality. (Image: Reuters)
9 / 109. Slovenia | With a small population of just 2.1 million people, Slovenia is the only country out of 33 in Central and Eastern Europe to make it to the top 10. It is followed closely by Czech at the 11th spot. (Image: Reuters)
10 / 1010. Finland | The world’s happiest and most content country is also among the most peaceful ones. Finland has low crime rates, high levels of trust in institutions, and a robust welfare state that makes it the peaceful and secure country it is today. However, the Nordic’s country’s ranking in peacefulness changed for the worse in the last few years as defense spending started increasing post Russia‑Ukraine in 2022. (Image: Reuters)
