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The Most Peaceful Countries in the World

Iceland is doing it right
Posted Aug 31, 2025 9:59 AM CDT
The World's Most, and Least, Peaceful Countries
This Aug. 8, 2015 photo shows an imposing headland marking the head of the fjord leading to Sudureyri, Iceland.   (AP Photo/Jim Heintz)

The Global Peace Index is out with its 2025 report on planet Earth's most peaceful countries, and it has a repeat winner, reports CNN: Iceland, which also grabbed the No. 3 spot on the World Happiness Report. "The key to building peacefulness in times of conflict and uncertainty is Positive Peace: the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies," the Global Peace Index report reads. "Positive Peace is strongly correlated with higher GDP growth, lower interest rates, societal wellbeing, and more resilience to shocks." The report took a look at 163 independent countries vis a vis metrics that included societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and militarization. The United States clocks in low, at No. 128, due largely to its militarization. The results:

Most peaceful

  1. Iceland, with a score of 1.095
  2. Ireland, 1.260
  3. New Zealand, 1.282
  4. Austria, 1.294
  5. Switzerland, 1.294
  6. Singapore, 1.357
  7. Portugal, 1.371
  8. Denmark, 1.393
  9. Slovenia, 1.409
  10. Finland, 1.420

The least peaceful

  1. Mali, 3.061
  2. Israel, 3.108
  3. South Sudan, 3.117
  4. Syria, 3.184
  5. Afghanistan, 3.229
  6. Yemen, 3.262
  7. Democratic Republic of the Congo, 3.292
  8. Sudan, 3.323
  9. Ukraine, 3.434
  10. Russia, 3.441

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