Out of the 163 countries listed on the Global Peace Index (GPI) ranking for 2021, Nigeria comes in at number 146 while sister country Ghana ranks 38, highlighting Nigeria’s high insecurity levels.
The GPI is collated by the Australian-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), ranking 163 countries according to their peace levels.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritius sat atop the list of peaceful countries, as the 28th most peaceful country globally and the most peaceful in Africa, followed by Ghana at 38 globally and second in Africa.
According to the GPI, there was a “slight” fall in peacefulness in the Sub-Saharan African region in 2021, “with the average country score deteriorating by 0.5 per
cent.”
It attributed the sources of violence to disputes in election results that triggered civil unrest and political instability, while in other parts, violent protests erupted, disrupting the peace in those countries.
On the tail end of the least peaceful countries in Africa and the world, the report noted that South Sudan, one of the youngest countries on the continent, occupied that position.
Nigeria recorded the highest increase in the economic impact of violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an increase of $40.6 billion in 2020 higher than in 2019.
Between January and June 2020, not less than 1,126 people were killed in the northwest region of Nigeria while 210,000 people were displaced as a result of intercommunal violence in various parts of the country, according to the UN refugee agency.
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“Low Levels of Corruption, Acceptance of the Rights of Others, Sound Business Environment, Well-Functioning Government and Good Relations with Neighbours are the most important to improve in countries suffering from high levels of violence,” the report noted, identifying those qualities as part of the eight Pillars of Positive Peace.
It added that “Free Flow of Information, Equitable Distribution of Resources and High Levels of Human Capital become more important as countries move away from very low levels of peace.”
Most Peaceful Countries
For 13 years in a row, the Nordic island nation of Iceland has led the list of the most peaceful countries on the globe, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Czech Republic, and Canada.
Singapore fell of the top ten most peaceful countries after it experienced a slight increase in its political terror indicator, the report said.
“The world is now less peaceful than it was at the inception of the index in 2008. Since then, the average level of country peacefulness has deteriorated by just under two per cent,” the report stated.
Least Peaceful Countries
At the bottom of the list is Afghanistan, holding this position for the fourth year in a row.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were reportedly the least peaceful, with no country from the region ranking higher than 29th on the GPI.
However, the region recorded the largest increase in peace than experienced in any other region over the past year.
The top 10 least peaceful countries on the list include Russia (154); Central African Republic (155); Libya (156); Democratic Republic of Congo (157); Somalia (158); Iraq (159); South Sudan (160); Syria (161); Yemen (162); and Afghanistan (163).
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