Skip to main content

One of the least peaceful countries, India's global peace ranking deteriorates: Report

By Rajiv Shah 
A just-released report has asserted that India's ranking in the Global Peace Index (GPI) is 141st among 163 countries, deteriorating by four ranks in a year. Ranking 163 countries by providing a score to each, the report, prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), headquartered in Sydney, Australia, has found India to be one of the least peaceful nations in the region.
Thus, among its neighbours, India ranks worse than Bhutan (15), Sri Lanka (72), Nepal (76), Bangladesh (101) and China (110). The only consolation is, India's 141st rank is better than Pakistan's, 153rd. Afghanistan ranks worst than all the countries, 163rd.
With offices in several top world cities -- New York, Brussels, The Hague, Mexico City, and Harare -- IEP's rankings, now in the 13th year, are claimed to be a "leading measure of global peacefulness". The report presents data-driven analysis on peace, its economic value, trends, and how to develop peaceful societies.
GPI covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace using three thematic domains: the level of societal safety and security; the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict; and the degree of militarisation.
Assessing ongoing domestic and international conflicts, the report finds Bangladesh (1.979 on a scale of 5) and China (1.982) more peaceful than India (3.039) and Pakistan (3.594). As for the level of societal safety and security, India's score is 2.329, better than Bangladesh (2.517), China (2.518), and Pakistan (2.987). And regarding militarisation, Bangladesh (1.668) and China (2.016) score better than India 2.566 or Pakistan 2.575.
As for economic cost of violence, India and Sri Lanka are calculated to be spending 5% of GDP. But as for Bangladesh, this ratio is 3% of GDP, China's is 4% and Pakistan 7%.The results for this year show that the average level of global peacefulness has improved very slightly. Though this is the first time the index has improved in five years, the average country score improved by just 0.09 per cent, with 86 countries improving, and 76 recording deterioration -- India and Pakistan falling in the second category.
The report says, Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark. Bhutan has recorded the largest improvement of any country in the top 20, rising 43 places in the last 12 years, it adds.
While Afghanistan is rated as the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful country, other least peaceful countries among the bottom five are South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.
The report regrets, South Asia’s score for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than the global average, and in four out of six cases found to be deteriorating. Only the category of deaths from internal conflict improved, with fewer fatalities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, than the year prior.
The report says, "The improvement in both armed services personnel and military expenditure was particularly notable in some of the largest militaries in the world. Of the five countries with the largest total military expenditure -- United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India, and Russia -- all five had falls in their armed service personnel rates, and China, India, and the US also had a concurrent reduction in military expenditure as a percentage of GDP."
The report places India alongside Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan as having the highest risk of multiple climate hazards.
The report says, "China, Bangladesh, and India, score in the bottom half of the GPI and have significant exposure to climate hazards, with 393 million people in high climate hazard areas."
It warns, "Drought or the loss of arable land can lead to severe food insecurity and loss of livelihoods. Periods of drought in Kenya sparked clashes over water between pastoralists and farmers, and water shortages in India yielded conflicts between neighbouring states. Potential for larger interstate conflicts over resources that traverse borders, such as river basins, is also of concern."
---
Download full report HERE

Comments

TRENDING

Neville Cardus: The man who turned cricket writing into poetry

By Harsh Thakor*  Neville Cardus was one of the most remarkable literary figures of the twentieth century. A prolific English writer and critic, he achieved distinction in two vastly different fields: cricket and classical music. Entirely self-taught, Cardus rose from humble beginnings to become both the cricket correspondent and chief music critic of The Manchester Guardian . His achievements in these contrasting disciplines earned him widespread acclaim and established him as one of the foremost critics of his generation. In February 2025, the cricketing and literary world marked the fiftieth anniversary of his death, which occurred in February 1975.

​Ideological shifts and structural realities within India's left-wing insurgency

​By Harsh Thakor*  The Maoist insurgency in India is arguably at its weakest point since the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2004. Years of sustained counterinsurgency operations, leadership losses, shrinking territorial influence, declining recruitment, and growing technological advantages enjoyed by the state have significantly eroded the movement's operational capabilities. 

The Dalit body on screen: Stereotypes, sacrifice, and subjugation in Hindi films

By Dr. Prem Singh*  Despite centuries of reformist efforts, from Gandhi and Ambedkar to contemporary activists, the caste system remains deeply embedded in the Indian psyche. One of the primary reasons for this persistence is the religious sanction provided by Brahminical scriptures, which have shaped not only social structures but also cultural and artistic expressions.