Peace, as some say, begins with a smile. But ask anyone who lives in some of the peaceful countries on this planet and they’re going to probably inform you the other. These most peaceful nations also enjoy lower rates of interest, a stronger currency, and greater foreign investment – not to say higher political stability and a stronger correlation with individual levels of perceived happiness.
Unfortunately, the economic impact of violence can be measurable: globally in 2017, it amounted to $14.76 trillion in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, or 12.4% of the world’s total gross domestic product (if the sheer scale of violence makes these numbers which might be a bit hard to know, we’re talking about $1,988 for one and all on the planet).
These are the important thing findings from the 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) developed by the international think tank of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), covering 163 independent countries and territories, home to 99.7% of the world’s population. The rating, which is predicated on 23 indicators grouped into three criteria (social security, the extent of ongoing internal and international conflict and the degree of militarization), paints a sobering picture: world peace fell by 0.27% last 12 months, the fourth consecutive annual decline, which makes today’s world less peaceful than at any time within the last decade. Meanwhile, the variety of refugees has skyrocketed to 1% of the world’s population, the best level in modern history.
For the eleventh 12 months in a row, the tiny northern European country of Iceland has been named the safest place on this planet. Iceland, home to around 300,000 people, has a low crime rate – just 1.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants per 12 months.
Calmness can be correlated with good performance on many macroeconomic variables. Interest rates are lower and more stable in countries with a high level of peace, as is the inflation rate. Foreign direct investment is greater than twice as high in countries with high levels of peace. Overall, if the least peaceful countries grew at the identical rate because the highly peaceful countries, the worldwide economy can be almost $14 trillion larger.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore tops the list and the Philippines is at the underside. Here is the complete rank:
Source: Vision of Humanity | Institute for Economy and Peace (IEP) | Business expert
