Ranked: most peaceful countries in the world 2022

The most peaceful countries in the world have been updated for 2022. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below

Iceland is once again the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria.

However, the world is a slightly less peaceful place as the number of countries experiencing violent internal conflict rose, the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) suggests.

Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth year in a row, followed by Yemen, Syria, Russia and South Sudan.

The GPI report is the only statistical measure of its kind and makes it possible to rank 163 independent states based on how peaceful they are. The 163 states cover over 99% of the world’s population and are assessed using 23 indicators, each banded or normalised on a scale of 1-5.

The index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), measures global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

Peace is notoriously difficult to define. The IEP approaches it by attempting to assess the “harmony achieved by the absence of violence or the fear of violence” in a society. More information on the methodology, including details of the 23 indicators used, can be found on page 57 of the report.

10 LEAST and most peaceful countries

Key Findings

• Iceland has maintained its position as the most peaceful country in the world. It has been ranked first every year since 2008.
• Afghanistan is the world’s least peaceful country for the fifth consecutive year.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 0.03% in 2022.
• 90 countries improved and 71 recorded a deterioration over the past year.
• This is the 11th time in the last 14 years that global peacefulness has declined.
• Since 2008, the average level of global peacefulness declined by 3.2%
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to seven of the 10 most peaceful countries.
• Despite recording an improvement in peacefulness, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful.
• Ukraine, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Russia and Haiti recorded the largest deterioration in peacefulness.
• Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Algeria recorded the largest improvements.
• New Zealand is the most peaceful country in Oceania.
• Singapore is the most peaceful country in Asia.
• Mauritius is the most peaceful country in Africa with Qatar the most peaceful in the Middle East.
• Costa Rica is the most peaceful country in Latin America and the Caribbean with Uruguay the highest-ranked South American country.
• The number of forcibly displaced people around the world increased from 31 million in 2008, to over 88 million in 2022.
• The USA experienced a slight deterioration in peacefulness over the past year due to an increase in civil unrest, violent demonstrations and a rise in political instability.
• The level of peacefulness in the US is at its lowest since 2008.

World’s Most peaceful countries – ranked

The table below ranks 163 of the world’s countries by how they scored on the Global Peace Index. Some countries have been omitted due to a lack of sufficient data.

Rank	Country	Score
1	Iceland	1.107
2	New Zealand	1.269
3	Ireland	1.288
4	Denmark	1.296
5	Austria	1.300
6	Portugal	1.301
7	Slovenia	1.316
8	Czech Republic	1.318
9	Singapore	1.326
10	Japan	1.336
11	Switzerland	1.357
12	Canada	1.389
13	Hungary	1.411
14	Finland	1.439
15	Croatia	1.440
16	Germany	1.462
17	Norway	1.465
18	Malaysia	1.471
19	Bhutan	1.481
20	Slovakia	1.499
21	Netherlands	1.522
22	Belgium	1.526
23	Qatar	1.533
24	Bulgaria	1.541
25	Poland	1.552
26	Sweden	1.564
27	Australia	1.565
28	Mauritius	1.570
29	Spain	1.603
30	Taiwan	1.618
31	Romania	1.640
32	Italy	1.643
33	Estonia	1.662
34	UK	1.667
35	Latvia	1.673
36	North Macedonia	1.704
37	Lithuania	1.724
38	Costa Rica	1.732
39	Kuwait	1.739
40	Ghana	1.759
41	Albania	1.761
42	Mongolia	1.775
43	South Korea	1.779
44	Vietnam	1.786
45	The Gambia	1.792
46	Uruguay	1.795
47	Indonesia	1.800
48	Botswana	1.801
48	Montenegro	1.801
50	Sierra Leone	1.803
51	Laos	1.809
52	Serbia	1.832
53	Greece	1.838
54	Timor-Leste	1.839
55	Chile	1.840
56	Zambia	1.841
57	Jordan	1.849
58	Bosnia & Herz.	1.850
59	Equatorial Guinea	1.863
60	UAE	1.865
61	Panama	1.876
62	Cambodia	1.882
62	Moldova	1.882
64	Oman	1.889
65	France	1.895
65	Malawi	1.895
67	Cyprus	1.903
68	Namibia	1.908
69	Argentina	1.911
70	Senegal	1.916
71	Kosovo	1.938
72	Rwanda	1.945
73	Nepal	1.947
74	Morocco	1.969
75	Gabon	1.973
75	Liberia	1.973
77	Paraguay	1.976
78	Angola	1.982
79	Ecuador	1.988
80	Bolivia	1.989
81	Dominican Republic	1.990
81	Jamaica	1.990
83	Armenia	1.992
84	Madagascar	1.995
85	Tunisia	1.996
86	Tanzania	2.001
86	Uzbekistan	2.001
88	Trinidad & Tobago	2.005
89	China	2.010
90	Sri Lanka	2.020
91	Kyrgyzstan	2.028
92	Tajikistan	2.031
93	Eswatini	2.033
94	Papua New Guinea	2.046
95	Georgia	2.065
96	Bangladesh	2.067
97	Kazakhstan	2.071
98	Cuba	2.083
99	Bahrain	2.085
100	Lesotho	2.089
101	Peru	2.091
102	Togo	2.094
103	Thailand	2.098
104	Turkmenistan	2.116
105	Benin	2.125
106	Guatemala	2.139
107	Guyana	2.140
108	Cote d’ Ivoire	2.144
109	Algeria	2.146
110	Guinea-Bissau	2.156
111	Congo	2.184
112	Mauritania	2.193
113	Djibouti	2.213
114	El Salvador	2.231
115	Haiti	2.254
116	Belarus	2.259
117	Honduras	2.269
118	South Africa	2.283
119	Saudi Arabia	2.288
120	Kenya	2.303
121	Uganda	2.309
122	Mozambique	2.316
123	Guinea	2.332
124	Nicaragua	2.334
125	Philippines	2.339
126	Egypt	2.342
127	Zimbabwe	2.350
128	Azerbaijan	2.437
129	USA	2.440
130	Brazil	2.465
131	Burundi	2.470
132	Eritrea	2.494
133	Palestine	2.552
134	Israel	2.576
135	India	2.578
136	Chad	2.591
137	Mexico	2.612
138	Lebanon	2.615
139	Myanmar	2.631
140	Niger	2.655
141	Iran	2.687
142	Cameroon	2.709
143	Nigeria	2.725
144	Colombia	2.729
145	Turkey	2.785
146	Burkina Faso	2.786
147	Pakistan	2.789
148	Venezuela	2.798
149	Ethiopia	2.806
150	Mali	2.911
151	Libya	2.930
152	North Korea	2.942
153	Ukraine	2.971
154	Sudan	3.007
155	Central African Republic	3.021
156	Somalia	3.125
157	Iraq	3.157
158	DR Congo	3.166
159	South Sudan	3.184
160	Russia	3.275
161	Syria	3.356
162	Yemen	3.394
163	Afghanistan	3.554

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Lead image: ANDREW MAYOVSKYY/SHUTTERSTOCK