Northern Ireland

Republic ranked third most peaceful country globally

A view of the River Lee in Cork city
A view of the River Lee in Cork city A view of the River Lee in Cork city

The Republic has been ranked the third most peaceful country globally and second most peaceful in Europe, according to a new study.

The latest Global Peace Index (GPI) has revealed that Ireland has moved up into third place from eighth globally last year.

Iceland tops the list as most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand with Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Czechia and Singapore making up the top 10 global list.

Iceland also topped the European list followed by Ireland, which is up from seventh place last year.

Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary and Finland make up the remaining top ten most peaceful countries in Europe.

Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

However, peacefulness has recorded it’s lowest level to date, which has been linked to the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the 163 countries, 84 recorded deteriorations, while 77 recorded improvements and two recorded no change in their score.

The largest regional deterioration in peacefulness was Russia and Eurasia, followed by North America.

Ukraine now features among the 10 worst scores for refugees and internally displaced persons due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Other conflicts that influenced the fall in peacefulness were in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Sudan and Mali.

The Covid-19 pandemic also continues to lead to changes to the peacefulness index, due to economic and social activity, particularly in the United States and Canada.