The concept of peace is notoriously difficult to define. In simple terms it can be seen as harmony achieved by the absence of war or conflict and for nations, this could indicate that those not involved in violent conflicts with neighbouring states or suffering internal wars would have achieved a state of peace. International Peace Research Institute, 1996 defined as a “negative peace” – an absence of violence and its counterpart concept, “positive peace”. The Global Peace Index is a  a measurement of peace that seeks to determine what cultural attributes and institutions are associated with states of peace.

The Global Peace Index has approached the task on two fronts – the first aim is to produce a scoring model and global peace index that ranks 140 nations by their relative states of peace. And secondly, to use the underlying data and results from the Global Peace Index to undertake investigations into the relative importance of a range of potential determinants that may influence the creation and nurturing of peaceful societies.

Global Peace Index (GPI) has been expanded and updated with the latest available figures for 2008, a year on from the completion of the first GPI, which ranked 121 nations according to their relative states of peace. The index is composed of 24 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which combine internal and external factors ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights. These indicators were selected by an international panel of academics, business people, philanthropists and peace institutions. The GPI is collated and calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

GPI Map

For more information see The Global Peace Index – Vision of Humanity at www.visionofhumanity.org.

  • Share/Bookmark