The news might be dominated by stories of violence and war, but, according to the Global Peace Index, the world became a little bit more peaceful last year. Germany, however, slipped several places in the ranking.

The world got more peaceful in 2019

Every year since 2007, the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has compiled a global ranking of countries according to how peaceful they are. They use factors such as war, terrorism, crime, police violence and arms exports to give 163 different countries worldwide an individual “peacefulness” score.

According to the report, the average level of global peacefulness improved very slightly last year, for the first time in five years. The average country score improved by around 0,09 percent, with 86 countries improving their scores and 76 recording deteriorations. Despite this improvement, the world is still considerably less peaceful than it was a decade ago, with the overall level of peacefulness having deteriorated by 3,7 percent since 2008.

Germany slides to 22nd place

In the 2019 ranking, Germany dropped five places to rank 22nd, just outside the top 20. This position puts it behind countries like Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Within Europe, Germany ranked 15th, and Europe ranked overall as the most peaceful region in the world after a decline in terrorist attacks over the past year. The number of people seeking refuge in Europe also fell.

Although Germany did not score particularly well in the “deaths from external conflict” category, the number of German fatalities abroad actually decreased over the past year. The major reason behind Germany’s slide in the rankings was a high score in the “weapons exports” category: the report’s authors noted that, by total export value, just five countries are responsible for over 75 percent of total weapons exports: the US, Russia, France, China and Germany.

The Global Peace Index ranking 2019

Overall, Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, having held the position since 2008. Also at the top of the index are the countries New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark. The least peaceful country in the world is Afghanistan, having overtaken the position held by Syria in previous years. The other countries at the bottom of the index are South Sudan, Yemen and Iraq.

The top 25 most peaceful countries were as follows:

• 1. Iceland
• 2. New Zealand
• 3. Portugal
• 4. Austria
• 5. Denmark
• 6. Canada
• 7. Singapore
• 8. Slovenia
• 9. Japan
• 10. Czech Republic
• 11. Switzerland
• 12. Ireland
• 13. Australia
• 14. Finland
• 15. Bhutan
• 16. Malaysia
• 17. Netherlands
• = 18. Belgium
• = 18. Sweden
• 20. Norway
• 21. Hungary
• 22. Germany
• 23. Slovakia
• 24. Mauritius
• 25. Romania

The key findings of the Global Peace Index 2019 are summarised below. You can find the full ranking, along with details of how the scores are calculated, on the Global Peace Index’s website.