Ranked: most peaceful countries in the world 2022

The most peaceful countries in the world have been updated for 2022. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below

Iceland is once again the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Austria.

However, the world is a slightly less peaceful place as the number of countries experiencing violent internal conflict rose, the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) suggests.

Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth year in a row, followed by Yemen, Syria, Russia and South Sudan.

The GPI report is the only statistical measure of its kind and makes it possible to rank 163 independent states based on how peaceful they are. The 163 states cover over 99% of the world’s population and are assessed using 23 indicators, each banded or normalised on a scale of 1-5.

The index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), measures global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

Peace is notoriously difficult to define. The IEP approaches it by attempting to assess the “harmony achieved by the absence of violence or the fear of violence” in a society. More information on the methodology, including details of the 23 indicators used, can be found on page 57 of the report.

10 LEAST and most peaceful countries

Key Findings

• Iceland has maintained its position as the most peaceful country in the world. It has been ranked first every year since 2008.
• Afghanistan is the world’s least peaceful country for the fifth consecutive year.
• The average level of global peacefulness declined by 0.03% in 2022.
• 90 countries improved and 71 recorded a deterioration over the past year.
• This is the 11th time in the last 14 years that global peacefulness has declined.
• Since 2008, the average level of global peacefulness declined by 3.2%
• Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to seven of the 10 most peaceful countries.
• Despite recording an improvement in peacefulness, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful.
• Ukraine, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Russia and Haiti recorded the largest deterioration in peacefulness.
• Libya,