World less peaceful as civil unrest and political instability increases due to COVID-19 pandemic, reveals IEP
PR90034
LONDON, June 17, 2021, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--
Today marks the launch of the 15th edition of the Global Peace Index from the
international think-tank the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
[https://www.economicsandpeace.org/ ].
Key results
- Civil unrest rose globally by 10%, with Belarus recording the largest
deterioration. There were 14,871 violent demonstrations, protests and riots
recorded globally in 2020.
- Over 60% of people globally are worried about sustaining serious harm from
violent crime.
- Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, and Afghanistan the
least peaceful.
- Although there has been an improvement in militarisation since 2008, there
are now signs that this trend has reversed.
- The economic impact of violence increased in 2020 to $14.96 trillion -
equivalent to 11.6% of the world's GDP or $1,942 per person - due to increased
military spending.
- The death toll from terrorism has declined for the sixth consecutive year.
COVID-19 highlights
- In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a noticeable impact on violence, with
some improvements, such as violent conflict, while other indicators
deteriorated significantly including violent demonstrations. Three times as
many countries deteriorated than improved.
- Political instability also increased with twice as many countries
deteriorating than improving.
- There were widespread protests against pandemic related measures with over
5,000 events recorded globally.
- Countries such as India, Chile, Italy, France, Germany, and South Africa
were particularly impacted by demonstrations.
- The Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands,
Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, and Switzerland are best placed for a
post-COVID-19 recovery.
The 15th edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) report, the world's
leading measure of global peacefulness, reveals that the average level of
global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth time in twelve years in 2020.
Overall, 87 countries improved in peacefulness, whilst 73 deteriorated. This
was the second smallest in the history of the index but the report also reveals
that improvements in peace are more gradual than declines. As much of the world
looks towards a COVID-19 recovery, increased civil unrest and political
instability will be important to navigate.
Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held
since 2008. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Denmark,
Portugal, and Slovenia. Afghanistan remains as the least peaceful country in
the world for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, South
Sudan, and Iraq. Eight of the ten countries at the top of the GPI are located
in Europe. This is the largest share of European countries to be ranked in the
top ten list in the history of the index.
The largest improvement in peacefulness occurred in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region, which recorded significant reductions in conflict;
however, it is still the least peaceful region in the world. Iraq recorded the
second largest improvement globally after Ukraine. Burkina Faso experienced the
biggest deterioration of any country in the world, falling 13 places.
The indicators that had the largest deteriorations in the 2021 GPI were:
military expenditure (105 countries), weapons imports (90 countries), political
instability (46 countries) and violent demonstrations (25 countries). The
following indicators had the most improvements: terrorism (115 countries),
internal conflicts fought (21 countries) and deaths from internal conflict (33
countries).
Steve Killelea, Founder & Executive Chairman of IEP said: "The COVID-19
pandemic has accelerated shifts in global peacefulness. Although there was a
fall in the level of conflict and terrorism in 2020, political instability and
violent demonstrations have increased. The economic fallout from the pandemic
will create further uncertainty, especially for countries that were struggling
prior to the pandemic."
Civil unrest & COVID-19
Fuelled by the pandemic the key negative trend this year is the global rise in
civil unrest.
The largest regional deterioration in peacefulness occurred in North America,
due to the increased levels of political instability, homicides, and violent
demonstrations. Events such as the storming of the Capitol building and
widespread protests across the United States in support of the Black Lives
Matter movement increased civil unrest, political instability and the intensity
of internal conflict in 2020.
As much of the world went into lockdown, the total level of political and civil
unrest rose. Between January 2020 and April 2021, over 5,000 pandemic-related
violent events were recorded, and 25 countries deteriorated in the violent
demonstrations indicator – in comparison to just eight that improved. The
violent demonstrations score is now the highest since the inception of the
index, with the largest deteriorations occurring in Belarus, Myanmar, Russia,
the United States, and the Kyrgyz Republic.
During the pandemic, countries with higher levels of peacefulness had more
resilient economies. High Peace* countries recorded reductions of less than 7%
in total hours worked, while low Peace countries recorded up to 23% according
to IEP's Business & Peace Report 2021
[https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BAP-2021-web.pd
].
The full post-pandemic recovery will not be quick or easy. It is also likely to
be uneven, and countries with weak fiscal situations will find it harder than
others. Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Laos are amongst the countries
considered to have the greatest risk of large falls in peacefulness.
Although Europe experienced a number of protest events last year, the region
remains the most peaceful in the world; however, political instability rose
across the continent, along with key indicators of Militarisation, including
military expenditure, weapons imports, and nuclear and heavy weapons
capabilities.
Militarisation and terrorism
Global militarisation has increased over the past two years with more countries
increasing military expenditure and their armed services personnel rate. This
is a reversal of the trend of the prior decade where 105 countries had
improved, while 57 deteriorated. The US, China, Germany and South Korea had the
largest increases in military expenditure in the last two years.
The death toll for terrorism continues to decline, with total deaths from
terrorism falling for the last six consecutive years. Preliminary data for 2020
suggests that less than 10,000 deaths were caused by terrorism.
Despite the total number of conflict-related deaths falling since 2014, the
number of conflicts globally increased by 88% since 2010. However, new
conflicts are emerging in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa with sub-Saharan
Africa accounting for over 65% of total violent conflicts in the 2021 GPI.
Preliminary data suggests that this trend is likely to continue.
Overall, the economic impact of violence in 2020 rose slightly to $14.96
trillion - or 11.6% of global GDP - due to an increase in global military
expenditure, which rose by 3.7%. This is equivalent to $1,942 for every person
on the planet.
Thomas Morgan, Associate Director of Research, says: "Violence is a very real
and significant threat to many people around the world. Over 60% of people
globally are worried about being the victim of violent crime. However, despite
the high fear of violence most people feel the world is getting safer. Nearly
75% of people globally felt that the world was as safe or safer than 5 years
ago."
Violence and safety
Violence remains a pressing issue for many people globally and is cited as the
biggest risk to daily safety in almost a third of countries. Over half of the
population in Afghanistan, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, and Dominican Republic
reported violence as the greatest risk to their safety in their daily lives.
Despite this, some indicators of violence have recorded significant
improvements since the start of the index, including perceptions of criminality
which has improved in 86 countries. 123 countries have seen their homicide rate
fall since 2008 and people from 84 countries have stated they feel safer
walking alone. Even with these improvements, data has revealed that women are
5% more fearful of violence than men** – while some countries have extreme
differences. In Portugal 23% of women are more fearful of violence than men.
Regional overview:
- The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) remained the world's least
peaceful region, but recorded the biggest improvement.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, half of the population have had a recent experience
of violence. Those living in Namibia had the highest experience of violence in
the world at 63%.
- Over 50% of people in the Asia-Pacific region feel safer now than five years
ago. In China, 63% of people said that they felt safer, which is the best
result in the region.
- Europe recorded an improvement in peacefulness on the 2021 GPI, because of
the continued improvement of the terrorism impact indicator.
- North America had the largest deterioration on the index fuelled by
political instability in the US.
- For the first time in five years, peacefulness deteriorated in Russia and
Eurasia due to an increase in violent demonstrations.
- South America experienced the second largest regional deterioration, owing
to increases in violent crime and civil unrest.
- Due to improvements in the Militarisation and Safety and Security domain,
South Asia was one of only three regions to record an improvement in
peacefulness over the last year.
- In Central America and the Caribbean, nine countries deteriorated, with only
Nicaragua, Haiti, and Guatemala recording improvements.
For more information and to download the Global Peace Index 2021 and also the
Business & Peace Report 2021, visit visionofhumanity.org and
economicsandpeace.org
NOTES TO EDITORS
*High Peace is the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and
sustain peaceful societies, also known as Positive Peace.
** Data from the Lloyds Register World Risk Poll/IEP
The GPI report, articles and interactive maps are available at:
visionofhumanity.org
Twitter: @globpeaceindex / twitter.com/globpeaceindex
Facebook: @globalpeaceindex facebook.com/globalpeaceindex
About the Global Peace Index (GPI)
Produced by the international think-tank the Institute for Economics & Peace
(IEP) [http://economicsandpeace.org/ ], the GPI report presents the most
comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on peace, its economic value,
trends, and how to develop peaceful societies. The report covers 99.7% of the
world's population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from
highly respected sources to compile the index. These indicators are grouped
into three key domains: Ongoing Conflict, Safety and Security, and
Militarisation.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/792052/IEP_Logo.jpg
SOURCE: Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
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