New Zealand is the second most peaceful country in the world

New Zealand has been ranked as the second most peaceful country on the planet, according to this year 's World Peace Index.

The report measures the "calmness" of 163 countries through a range of measures, including military spending, the number of deaths caused by conflict and terrorism, as well as the estimated economic cost of terrorism. violence.

Iceland, often described as an idyllic Nordic paradise, topped the rankings for the 12th consecutive year.

The researchers praised the falling murder rate in Iceland and the increased funding of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

"The strong institutions, attitudes and peace structures that Iceland maintains have strengthened the country's resilience against small internal shocks," they said.

New Zealand came second, with researchers taking note of the attacks on the Christchurch Mosque, saying our country had improved scores and developed "resilience" to deal with such disasters.

"New Zealand maintained or improved its scores in 22 of the 23 indicators, but the impact of terrorism has deteriorated due to the terrorist attack of March 15, 2019 against two mosques in Christchurch, in which 51 people were killed, "says the report.

"The improvement of five other indicators in all three areas has helped New Zealand maintain its status as the second most peaceful country in the world."

Portugal was ranked third and Austria fourth, despite the likelihood of violent protests after the accession of a far-right party to the government, according to the report of the World Peace Index.

Denmark was fifth with the European nations topping the list.

"Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and has registered a very slight improvement in peace after several years of deterioration," the report said.

"However, despite these improvements, the overall political environment in Europe remains uncertain, and resurgent nationalism and terrorism remain significant threats to peace."

Japan is ranked among the world's great powers, becoming the 9th most peaceful country in the world.

Germany was 22nd, the United Kingdom 45th and France 60th, while the United States lost four places to 128th.

The report points out that the growing political polarization in America has added to the tensions between Washington and Iran, which is why the country's ranking has fallen to 128.

"Confidence in American leadership has dropped the most in the past five years, with people now having more confidence in China than on average," the report said.

Australia's score also fell slightly, with researchers saying the country had increased its military spending and its weapons imports.

Russia scored poorly, ranking 10th below North Korea.

Afghanistan was at the bottom of the rankings, registering an even worse score than Syria, where the Islamic State was swept from its last piece of land earlier this year.

"Despite the improvement this year, the world remains considerably less peaceful than it was ten years ago," the report says.

"Many factors have contributed to the fall of peace over the last decade, including the intensification of terrorist activity, the intensification of conflicts in the Middle East, the rise of regional tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. in Northeast Asia, the increase in the number of refugees and the rise of political tensions in Europe and the United States, "the report said.

South Sudan, Yemen and Iraq have also been ranked among the least peaceful countries in the world.

The complete list of countries of the 2019 World Peace Index

1. Iceland

2. New Zealand

3. Portugal

4. Austria

5. Denmark

6. Canada

7. Singapore

8. Slovenia

9. Japan

10. Czech Republic

11. Switzerland

12. Ireland

13. Australia

14. Finland

15. Bhutan

16. Malaysia

17. Netherlands

18. Belgium

18. Sweden

20. Norway

21. Hungary

22. Germany

23. Slovakia

24. Mauritius

25. Romania

26. Bulgaria

27. Chile

28. Croatia

29. Poland

30. Botswana

31. Qatar

32. Spain

33. Costa Rica

34. Uruguay

35. Latvia

36. Taiwan

37. Estonia

38. Lithuania

39. Italy

40. Malawi

41. Indonesia

42. Mongolia

43. Kuwait

44. Ghana

45. United Kingdom

45. Laos

47. Panama

48. Timor-Leste

48. Zambia

50. Serbia

51. Albania

52. Sierra Leone

53. United Arab Emirates

54. Tanzania

55. South Korea

55. Madagascar

57. Vietnam

58. Senegal

59. Liberia

60. France

60. Namibia

62. The Gambia

63. Cyprus

64. Kazakhstan

65. Greece

65. North Macedonia

67. Montenegro

68. Moldova

69. Oman

70. Equatorial Guinea

71. Ecuador

72. Benin

72. Sri Lanka

72. Eswatini

75. Argentina

76. Nepal

77. Angola

77. Jordan

79. Rwanda

80. Peru

81. Bosnia and Herzegovina

82. Tunisia

Jamaica

84. Dominican Republic

85. Bolivia

86. Kosovo

87. Haiti

88. Paraguay

89. Cambodia

90. Morocco

91. Cuba

92. Guyana

93. Trinidad and Tobago

94. Mozambique

95. Kyrgyz Republic

96. Gabon

97. Belarus

98. Papua New Guinea

99. Georgia

100. Guinea

101. Bangladesh

102. Uzbekistan

103. Lesotho

104. Burkina Faso

105. Tajikistan

105. Uganda

107. Côte d'Ivoire

108. Togo

109. Djibouti

110. China

111. Algeria

112. Guinea-Bissau

113. El Salvador

114. Guatemala

115. Turkmenistan

116. Brazil

117. Thailand

118. Armenia

119. Kenya

120. Nicaragua

121. Republic of Congo

Mauritania

123. Honduras

124. Bahrain

125. Myanmar

126. Niger

127. South Africa

128. United States of America

129. Saudi Arabia

130. Azerbaijan

131. Ethiopia

132. Zimbabwe

133. Eritrea

134. Philippines

135. Burundi

136. Egypt

137. Chad

138. Cameroon

139. Iran

140. Mexico

141. India

142. Palestine

143. Colombia

144. Venezuela

145. Mali

146. Israel

147. Lebanon

148. Nigeria

149. North Korea

150. Ukraine

151. Sudan

152. Turkey

153. Pakistan

154. Russia

155. Democratic Republic of the Congo

156. Libya

157. Central African Republic

158. Somalia

159. Iraq

160. Yemen

161. South Sudan

162. Syria

163. Afghanistan