Tanzania ranked as the most peaceful nation in East Africa and the 7th in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) report. Iceland has topped the most peaceful nation list followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Canada, Singapore, Slovenia, Japan, and the Czech Republic, reported AllAfrica.
The GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. The ranking is based upon three thematic domains- the level of Societal Safety and Security, the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict and the degree of Militarisation.
The GPI report released by the Institute for Economic and Peace has ranked Tanzania 54th out of the 163 surveyed countries across the world. Tanzania has topped the list in the EAC region, followed by Rwanda, which is ranked second in EAC region but occupies the 17th slot in sub-Saharan region.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 27 of the region’s 44 countries worsened in peacefulness. Nigeria lists alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, and South Sudan in the top five least peaceful countries in the region.
The 2019 peace index report pointed out that while the world has become less peaceful over the last decade, there have been some notable improvements in peace. The average level of country peacefulness improved slightly by 0.09 percent due to a reduction in the severity of several major conflicts worldwide. In the 2019 GPI, 86 countries improved in the rankings, while 76 others deteriorated.
Bhutan has recorded the largest improvement of any country in the top 20, rising 43 places in the last 12 years. On the other hand, Afghanistan has replaced Syria to become the least peaceful country in the world. Syria is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq round off the remaining five least peaceful countries.
