"Peace Index":

More conflicts worldwide than at any time since 1945

The war in Ukraine has been going on for over two years.

(Bild: AP)

92 countries are currently involved in conflicts, more than at any time since the Second World War. These are the findings of the Global Peace Index published by the think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in London on Tuesday. In the 18th edition of the index, Austria moved up into the top three most peaceful countries in the world, behind NATO member Iceland and the neutral EU state of Ireland. Yemen replaced Afghanistan as the least peaceful country.

According to the report, the main reasons for the deterioration are the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. In the previous year, 162,000 deaths were counted as a result of armed conflicts. The peace situation deteriorated in 97 countries in the previous year, more than in any other year since the index was introduced in 2008.

Fear of violence is growing in North America
Militarization also recorded the greatest deterioration since the index was launched. 108 countries had a higher level of militarization in the previous year. The greatest regional deterioration occurred in North America, where violent crime and fear of violence increased. However, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continues to be the least peaceful region. Four of the ten least peaceful countries in the world are located there. Israel fell to 155th place on the list due to the Gaza war, an all-time low. Palestine slipped to 145th place.

Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip

(Bild: AFP)

The global economic impact of violence amounted to 19.1 trillion dollars (17,757.53 billion euros), which corresponds to 13.5 percent of global economic power. This is an increase of 158 billion dollars, which can be attributed in particular to conflict-related GDP losses. Expenditure on peacekeeping measures is negligible. It amounted to 49.6 billion dollars, which corresponds to 0.6 percent of the world's total military expenditure. The index also contains a new military evaluation system. This shows that the military capabilities of the USA are up to three times higher than those of China.

"Solving smaller conflicts"
IEP founder Steve Killelea complained that peacefulness had declined in nine of the last ten years. He referred in particular to the economic risks posed by increasing violence. Governments and companies "absolutely must step up their efforts to resolve the many smaller conflicts before they escalate into major crises", said Killelea.

The report also shows a change in the nature of conflicts. As recently as the 1970s, 49 percent of conflicts ended in a decisive victory for one of the two sides. In the 2010s, this was only the case in nine percent of conflicts. The number of conflicts that were ended by peace agreements fell from 23 to 4 percent.