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US plummets down global peace ranking due to political instability
1 JUNE 2017 • 1:09PM
The US has become a much less peaceful country due to its current political turbulence, according to a new report.
Its level of peacefulness is expected to continue to worsen in the coming years following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election last year.
At the same time, the world has become more peaceful in 2016. The improvement comes after a decade-long deterioration in world peacefulness. Ninety-three countries recorded improvements in the Global Peace Index score in the last year, while 68 deteriorated.
South America experienced the biggest improvement regionally while its northern counterpart suffered the biggest decline in peace. North America was dragged down by the US which has plummeted in the rankings, a result of the political polarisation during the presidential election campaign last year.
It is now number 114 out of the 163 independent states and territories ranked in the report, and down 11 rungs from 2015.
“While the true extent of such significant political polarity in the US will take years to be fully realised, its disruptive influence is already evident,” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the Institute for Economic and Peace think-tank which produced the index.
“Increasing inequality, rising perceptions of corruption, and falling press freedoms have all contributed to this substantial deterioration in the US and an overall decline in peace in the North America region.”
Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world and has been topping the chart since 2008. New Zealand and Portugal came next, pushing Austria and Denmark down in the ranking.
Portugal’s remarkable climb to third in the overall rankings was driven by a steady recovery from its fiscal crisis, resulting in overall greater internal stability. The country was ranked 16th less than five years ago.
The UK has made a significant improvement in the ranking despite the political divide over the EU referendum. It went up by six notches to number 41 in the last year.
While Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, many countries have slipped in scores due to the impact of the attacks in Brussels, Nice and Paris. Several countries such as Denmark, Sweden, France and Turkey experienced a record number of deaths from terrorism.
The Middle East and North Africa continues to be the least peaceful region, exacerbated by the intense rivalry between Shia Iran and the Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies, with Saudi Arabia in the forefront. Syria stays at the bottom of the list for the fifth consecutive year.
The global economic impact of violence is estimated to be approximately $14.3 trillion, equivalent to more than $1,900 for every person in the world. Even though the figure has gone down for the first time since 2011 - the year that corresponds with the start of the Syrian war and Isil’s territorial gains in Iraq, it still accounted for a hefty 12.6 percent of the world's GDP.
“Although this year’s uptick is reassuring, the world is still mired with conflict in the Middle East, political turmoil in the US, refugee flows and terrorism in Europe,” said Killelea.
“When combined with the increasing level of peace inequality, whereby the least peaceful countries are moving further apart from the most peaceful, the resulting scenario is one in which further improvements in peace are not guaranteed.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...obal-peace-ranking-due-political-instability/
1 JUNE 2017 • 1:09PM
The US has become a much less peaceful country due to its current political turbulence, according to a new report.
Its level of peacefulness is expected to continue to worsen in the coming years following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election last year.
At the same time, the world has become more peaceful in 2016. The improvement comes after a decade-long deterioration in world peacefulness. Ninety-three countries recorded improvements in the Global Peace Index score in the last year, while 68 deteriorated.
South America experienced the biggest improvement regionally while its northern counterpart suffered the biggest decline in peace. North America was dragged down by the US which has plummeted in the rankings, a result of the political polarisation during the presidential election campaign last year.
It is now number 114 out of the 163 independent states and territories ranked in the report, and down 11 rungs from 2015.
“While the true extent of such significant political polarity in the US will take years to be fully realised, its disruptive influence is already evident,” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the Institute for Economic and Peace think-tank which produced the index.
“Increasing inequality, rising perceptions of corruption, and falling press freedoms have all contributed to this substantial deterioration in the US and an overall decline in peace in the North America region.”
Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world and has been topping the chart since 2008. New Zealand and Portugal came next, pushing Austria and Denmark down in the ranking.
Portugal’s remarkable climb to third in the overall rankings was driven by a steady recovery from its fiscal crisis, resulting in overall greater internal stability. The country was ranked 16th less than five years ago.
The UK has made a significant improvement in the ranking despite the political divide over the EU referendum. It went up by six notches to number 41 in the last year.
While Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, many countries have slipped in scores due to the impact of the attacks in Brussels, Nice and Paris. Several countries such as Denmark, Sweden, France and Turkey experienced a record number of deaths from terrorism.
The Middle East and North Africa continues to be the least peaceful region, exacerbated by the intense rivalry between Shia Iran and the Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies, with Saudi Arabia in the forefront. Syria stays at the bottom of the list for the fifth consecutive year.
The global economic impact of violence is estimated to be approximately $14.3 trillion, equivalent to more than $1,900 for every person in the world. Even though the figure has gone down for the first time since 2011 - the year that corresponds with the start of the Syrian war and Isil’s territorial gains in Iraq, it still accounted for a hefty 12.6 percent of the world's GDP.
“Although this year’s uptick is reassuring, the world is still mired with conflict in the Middle East, political turmoil in the US, refugee flows and terrorism in Europe,” said Killelea.
“When combined with the increasing level of peace inequality, whereby the least peaceful countries are moving further apart from the most peaceful, the resulting scenario is one in which further improvements in peace are not guaranteed.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...obal-peace-ranking-due-political-instability/
