Newsmakers

For the 19th year running, Iceland has once again claimed the top spot on the Global Peace Index (GPI), cementing its decades-long reputation as the most serene nation on the planet. Released by the Institute for Economics & Peace, the 2026 edition ranks 163 independent states and territories, covering 99.7% of the world's population. Iceland's supremacy is no accident — it is underpinned by the absence of a standing military, very low crime levels, and high social trust — qualities that few nations can match.

The World's Most Peaceful Nations
In the 2026 ranking, Iceland holds first place with a score of 1.161, followed by New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Ireland. The rest of the top ten includes Austria, Portugal, Singapore, Finland, and Japan. Nine of the ten countries that appear in this year's list also appeared in the top ten in 2025, and the region that contains seven of them — Western and Central Europe — remains the most peaceful in the world.

Iceland itself posted a stronger performance than the year before. The country recorded an improvement in peacefulness of two per cent over the past year, with its Safety and Security domain improving by four per cent, driven by a 42.9 per cent improvement in the violent demonstrations indicator.

A World Growing Less Peaceful
Despite Iceland's bright example, the broader global picture is grim. The report reveals that global peace has deteriorated for the twelfth year in a row, with 99 countries recording worse scores than the previous year. Drone attacks rose by over 11,500% between 2018 and 2025, while AI has compressed military targeting times from one day to seconds. For the first time ever, Russia ranks as the least peaceful country in the world, with Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, and Israel completing the bottom five.
The economic toll is staggering. The economic impact of violence on the global economy in 2025 was US$21.8 trillion in purchasing power parity terms, equivalent to 10.5% of global GDP — an increase of 3.2% over the prior year, largely due to higher military expenditure.

Where Do India, Pakistan & Bangladesh Stand?
South Asia had a particularly troubling year. South Asia recorded the largest regional deterioration in the 2026 Index, driven by declines in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. India recorded a 2.9% deterioration in peacefulness and is now ranked 127th globally, with the decline driven mainly by rising tensions with Pakistan and Myanmar, along with continuing ethnic violence in Manipur. Pakistan fared worse — its peace score deteriorated by 5.5%, pushing it down to 152nd place globally, with rising terrorism, internal conflict, and worsening cross-border relations cited as key reasons. Bangladesh, meanwhile, sits at 117th place — making it the third most peaceful country in South Asia, behind Bhutan and Sri Lanka, though facing challenges related to political stability and internal tensions.

Looking Ahead
The 2026 GPI serves as both a celebration of what sustained peace looks like — as demonstrated by Iceland — and a sobering warning about where the world is headed. With 61 active state-based conflicts recorded, the highest number since World War II, the report underscores that without meaningful global cooperation, the gap between the world's most and least peaceful nations will only continue to widen.