The most dangerous countries in the world (2024)

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The most dangerous countries in the world (1)

A Ukrainian medic runs through a trench outside Bakhmut

(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

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The world has become less peaceful over the past 15 years, with the Ukraine war having a significant impact on global violence, according to analysis from the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Ukraine and Russia dropped down the think tank’s Global Peace Index (GPI), an annual measure of the relative peacefulness of 163 countries. It uses data to rank nations on the basis of societal safety and security, levels of militarisation, and international and domestic conflicts.

Iceland continued to be the most peaceful nation in the world, a position it has held since the inaugural index in 2008. The UK fell down one place, to 37th.

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Overall, global peacefulness decreased by 0.42% last year. “That might not seem like much,” said Global Finance magazine. But it is the 13th decline in the past 15 years and adds up to an overall reduction of 5% since the first index.

The intensity of worldwide conflict was increasing even before Russia invaded Ukraine. Peacefulness in Haiti, Mali and Israel saw large deteriorations in 2022, and the gap between the countries at the top and bottom of the table continued to grow.

(Image credit: Shafiullah Kakar/AFP/Getty Images)

Last year was the “deadliest year for armed conflict since the 1994 Rwandan genocide”, said the report, with tens of thousands of deaths across Tigray in Ethiopia and Ukraine, and a steep rise in violence in Mali and Myanmar.

Afghanistan was named the least peaceful country in the world for the sixth consecutive year, despite a 91% fall in conflict-related deaths.

Europe was deemed the most peaceful region, while the Middle East and North Africa remained the least.

The most dangerous countries in the world (4)

(Image credit: Richard Pierrin/AFP/Getty Images)

“Five of the 10 least peaceful countries globally are in the Arab world,” said Arab News, although it noted that the largest improvements of all countries took place in Libya.

While there were “substantial” worldwide improvements in the areas of terrorism and murder, the absolute level of military expenditure increased, particularly in China, the US and India.

The ten most peaceful countries in the world

  1. Iceland
  2. Denmark
  3. Ireland
  4. New Zealand
  5. Austria
  6. Singapore
  7. Portugal
  8. Slovenia
  9. Japan
  10. Switzerland

The ten least peaceful countries in the world

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Yemen
  3. Syria
  4. South Sudan
  5. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  6. Russia
  7. Ukraine
  8. Somalia
  9. Sudan
  10. Iraq

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Hollie Clemence is the UK executive editor. She joined the team in 2011 and spent six years as news editor for the site, during which time the country had three general elections, a Brexit referendum, a Covid pandemic and a new generation of British royals. Before that, she was a reporter for IHS Jane’s Police Review, and travelled the country interviewing police chiefs, politicians and rank-and-file officers, occasionally from the back of a helicopter or police van. She has a master’s in magazine journalism from City University, London, and has written for publications and websites including TheTimes.co.uk and Police Oracle.

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