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The top ten most peaceful countries

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The Global Peace Index ranks 162 countries by measuring security in society, the extent of conflict and the degree of militarisation. The Institute for Economics and Peace has used a wide-ranging definition. This includes both positive measures of peace as well as negative peace, famously defined by Johan Galtung as ‘the absence of violence or fear of violence’.

Countries are given scores on 22 indicators that measure internal peace (e.g. levels of perceived criminality, number of police per 100,000 people and level of organised crime) as well as external peace indicators which includes military expenditure and nuclear weapons capabilities.

The top ten most peaceful countries according to the GPI 2013:

1. Iceland: A nation of 300,000, “free from conflict,” according to the IEP report. Its expenditures on weapons is minimal, as there is no standing army. Iceland has only 47 prisoners per 100,000 residents. The country is one of the most progressive nations on the planet: its welfare system offers health care and higher education for each of its 320,000 citizens.

2. Denmark: IEP notes that Denmark is taking some major steps to downsize its military, reducing its fleet of F16 fighter jets from 48 planes to 30. Denmark’s homicide rate it as 1 murder per every 100,000 residents. Residents of Denmark prefer to concentrate on economic matters, rather than involving themselves in armed conflicts.

3. New Zealand: The country’s prison population is relatively high according to IEP, at 194 inmates per every 100,000 people, but New Zealand gets points for maintaining good relations with its neighbours. It is currently negotiating a “common border” agreement with Australia. Primarily, it’s a country of stunning scenery and quirky natives.

4. Austria: Violent crime is extremely low in Austria according to IEP, and military spending is also tiny, at 0.8% of the GDP. Ever since the First World War and the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Second World War, it’s been content to embrace peace and serenity.

5. Switzerland: The country has a large military industry, and its weapons exports per capita are among the largest in Europe. However, a law that stops Swiss companies from exporting weapons to countries that are embroiled in internal conflicts helped Switzerland to do better in this year’s peace index. Internally, the country is very tranquil, with extremely low levels of violent crime.

6. Japan: Japan’s constitution prevents its defence forces from developing “war potential,” which means that Japan is not a military threat to its neighbours. When it comes to “internal” peace Japan is strong. The country only has 55 prisoners per every 100,000 people and gun purchasing laws are extremely strict.

7. Finland: Like Austria, Finland is also looking at ways to cut defence spending. This northern European country, wedged between Russia and Sweden, has not been part of any international conflicts since World War II. It’s still a country which embraces compulsory military and civil service for young people, yet its only participation in fighting has been as part of joint UN peacekeeping forces. This is a nation which places education at the heart of everything.

8. Canada: The government has cut the army’s budget by 22% since 2010, military expenditure which is equivalent to 1% of GDP. Canada’s homicide rate is just one third of the United States’, and strict gun control laws, also make it harder for Canadians to purchase these weapons. It’s somewhere which has one of the highest standards of living on the planet.

9. Sweden: Sweden has less than 1 murder, per every 100,000 residents. The country registered 9,200 robberies in 2011, while in that same year, the US tallied more than 350,000 robberies. So domestically, Sweden is very safe, but it is one of Europe’s largest weapons exporters, which somewhat pulled it down in the IEP rankings

10. Belgium: Belgium gets points in the Global Peace Index, because it is a frequent contributor to UN and NATO peacekeeping missions. However, political divisions between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking Belgians, have increased the prospects of political instability, which is another category in the IEP’s rankings.

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