30 Least Peaceful Countries in the World
The United States faces its own challenges, but fortunately, being one of the least peaceful countries isn’t one of them. According to the Global Peace Index, the following countries have the lowest levels of peacefulness, making them largely unsafe for travel or residence.
Understanding the Data
The 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI) used 23 indicators to rank peace levels in 163 countries. Some of the indicators include assessing societal safety and security, ongoing internal and external conflicts, and the degree of militarization. The GPI combines its indicator rankings into one index score and calculates them on a scale of one to five; higher scores represent higher degrees of violence.
1: Afghanistan
Afghanistan is the most dangerous country in the world from a peacefulness perspective for the fifth consecutive year. It has a peace index score of 3.448 out of five due to high incidents of criminality.
2: Yemen
Due to internal conflict and COVID-19’s impact on Yemen’s economy, violence increased there, resulting in a peace index score of 3.35 out of five.
3: Syria
Explosive-related violence against civilians impacted Syria’s GPI. In 2023, its peace index score was slightly higher than Yemen, scoring 3.294 out of five.
4: South Sudan
Despite improvement in peacefulness, the level of internal conflict in South Sudan remains high. The country ranks 160 on the GPI, with a peace index score of 3.221 out of five.
5: Democratic Republic of the Congo
The number of deaths from external conflicts rose in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country’s peace index score of 3.214 resulted in a ranking of 159.
6: Russia
Russia’s conflict with Ukraine led to an increase in deaths, deterioration in political instability, and political terror. The country’s peace index score came in at 3.142 out of five.
7: Ukraine
Ukraine saw one of the largest deteriorations in peacefulness due to its ongoing conflicts with Russia, generating a peace index score of 3.043 out of five.
8: Somalia
Factors like conflict, deaths, and terrorism positioned Somalia at 156 on the GPI, with its peace index score standing at 3.036 out of five.
9: Sudan
With over 35 percent of its population displaced, Sudan’s ongoing struggles and uprising have resulted in a peace index score of 3.023 out of five.
10: Iraq
Iraq saw a slight improvement in peacefulness from last year’s GPI, moving three countries up and ranking at 154 out of 163 countries. The country’s global peace index score was 3.006 out of five.
11: Mali
Mali’s position on the GPI ranked at 153 due to ongoing domestic conflict. The country’s peace index score stands at 2.963.
12: Central African Republic
While GPI indicated a decrease in conflict deaths, the overall number of conflicts in regions like the Central African Republic increased, leading the country to a peace index score of 2.934 out of 5.0.
13: Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s peacefulness rank dropped to 151, a two-spot decrease. The economic impact of Armed Conflicts increased by 90% from 2021, adding to Ethiopia’s poor peace index of 2.872.
14: Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso experienced a large deterioration of peacefulness due to political and economic instability. The country encountered a three-spot drop in peacefulness, resulting in a peace index score of 2.868 out of five.
15: North Korea
North Korea rose above four countries between 2022 and 2023 on the peacefulness scale. Their current peace index score is 2.848 out of five.
16: Iran
Iran moved down one country in peacefulness. It also has a large military expenditure, resulting in a peace index of 2.8.
17: Turkey
Although Turkey’s peacefulness improved by five spots between 2022 and 2023, it continues to rank low for peacefulness. It shares Iran’s peace index score of 2.8.
18: Pakistan
With a peace index score slightly lower than Turkey at 2.745, Pakistan comes in at number 146 on the GPI. Pakistan authorities advise foreigners not to move out of their residences without prior coordination with law enforcement.
19: Myanmar
Ranking at 145, Myanmar’s peacefulness fell seven spots between 2022 and 2023. Its peace index score is 2.741.
20: Nigeria
The US Department of State recommends that travelers reconsider visiting Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed gangs. Nigeria’s peace index is 2.713 out of five.
21: Israel
Due to regional tension and the Israel–Hamas war, Israel ranks 143 on the GPI, with its peace index score at 2.706.
22: Chad
With higher scores in its Domestic Conflict Domain, Chad ranked 142nd for the most peaceful country in the world. It has a peace index score of 2.699.
23: Colombia
Despite the occurrence of violent demonstrations, Colombia increased two spots in the peacefulness index. Its peace index score is 2.693.
24: Venezuela
Ranking at 140, Venezuela has high scores in homicide, violent crime, and political terror. Its peace index score is 2.693 out of five.
25: Cameroon
Cameroon increased five spots between 2022 and 2023, with a peace index of 2.66. It’s the 139th most peaceful country in the world.
26: Niger
Niger ranks at 138 in GPI, a two-position increase from 2022. The country’s peace index score is 2.625 out of five.
27: Libya
Libya has made progress toward peace within the last several years and jumped up 14 spots between 2022 and 2023. Nevertheless, the country still faces ongoing conflict, producing a peace index score of 2.605.
28: Mexico
Mexico is amongst the countries with the highest rates of homicide. Its peace index score is 2.599, and the country ranked 136.
29: Lebanon
Though Lebanon’s peacefulness numbers have improved in recent years, it still has ongoing conflicts. Lebanon’s rank rose to 135, and its peacefulness index score is 2.581 out of five.
30: Palestine
With war happening in the Palestine city of Gaza, the only thing that may surprise readers is that Palestine doesn’t rank worse on this list. It declined four spots in 2023 from 2022, with a peace index score of 2.538.
India’s Improvement
In 2022, India made the top 30 list of least peaceful countries. However, it jumped out of this list in 2023, ranking 126 in the world for peacefulness with an index score of 2.314. That puts it ahead of the United States, which ranks 131 in the world and has a peacefulness score of 2.448.
Looking Ahead
According to the Global Peace Index, there was an overall positive change of 0.42 percentage points among all countries. Eighty-four countries improved in the rankings between 2022 and 2023.
A Troubling Trend
Even though many countries aren’t downright dangerous, 79 countries fell in their world peacefulness rankings in 2023.
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