By Elton Gomes
India has moved one place up and now ranks 136th in the Global Peace Index 2018, which is prepared by the international think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
The report is known to cover 99.7% of the global population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators that are grouped into three primary domains, namely ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarisation. The report sounded some unfavourable news that the world is less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade, as reported by PTI.
Iceland topped the list, while New Zealand came in second, and Austria was ranked third. Portugal occupied fourth place in the list, while another European country, Denmark, came in fifth. Canada was ranked sixth, and the Czech Republic was ranked seventh. In eight, ninth, and tenth positions were Singapore, Japan, and Ireland, respectively.
Europe once again dominated the rankings, but its position has declined for the third consecutive year. The report mentioned that “In the last decade, 61% of the countries in Europe deteriorated due to higher levels of political instability, increased impact from terrorism, and increased perceptions of criminality. No single Nordic country is more peaceful now than in 2008.
India and the South Asia region
The report noted that South Asia saw the largest regional improvement in peacefulness. Apart from India moving up one place, Nepal moved to rank 84 from 93, while Sri Lanka climbed to 67 from 80.
In terms of Indias marginal progress, the report stated that “Government efforts to tackle violent crime have paid off with an improved score, and falling levels of military expenditure, particularly on weapons imports, resulted in a slight improvement in its militarisation score”. On the other hand, “the concentration of power in the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led to a deterioration in India’s score for political instability, and the country’s scores on the Political Terror Scale and internal conflicts fought, at 4 and 4.7 respectively, remain elevated”.
India was ranked lower than Bhutan (19), Sri Lanka (67), Nepal (84), and Bangladesh (93) in the South Asia region. Pakistan came in at rank 151, while Afghanistan found itself at the second-last spot of 162. Syria was the least peaceful country and occupied the last rank of 163. The report stated that ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Afghanistan have resulted in a rise in battlefield deaths, a surge in refugee population, and an increase in terrorism-related activities.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius