Bangladesh outshines India, Pakistan, falls behind Bhutan, Nepal in peace index

Bangladesh has secured the 93rd spot among 163 countries in the global peace index for 2024, with a score of 2.126. It outperformed India, Pakistan and other South Asian peers, but lagged behind Bhutan and Nepal.

According to the report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace on Tuesday, Bangladesh scored 2.515 in the domain of domestic and international conflict, 2.322 in societal safety and security domain, and 1.506 in militarisation domain. 

The domains were measured under a 5-point scale, where the lowest a score the more peaceful the country.

Besides, the state of peace in Bangladesh has been categorised as medium among six categories -- very high, high,. medium, low, very low, and not included.

Bhutan is the most peaceful country in South Asia with an overall  score of 1.564, and has been ranked just outside the 20 most peaceful countries in the world. The country has been maintaining this position since 2011. 

With a score of 2.069, Nepal was positioned at the 81th spot in the index, though it recorded a significant decline in peacefulness due to increased external conflicts and perceptions of criminality. However, improvements were noted in reducing deaths from internal conflict and lower weapons imports.

Sri Lanka has been ranked at the 100th position with a score of 2.195, behind Bangladesh.  

India, the largest country in South Asia, has secured the 116th spot, with an overall score of 2.319. The report noted that India’s overall level of peacefulness improved by 1.6 per cent over the past year, and it is now more peaceful than at any time since the inception of the index in May 2009.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been ranked 140th and 160th, with scores of 2.783 and 3.294 respectively. 

Globally, the peace index showed a decline in peacefulness for the fifth consecutive year, with the average level of country peacefulness deteriorating by 0.56 per cent. 

A total of 97 countries saw a decrease in peace, while 65 countries experienced improvements. The most peaceful countries of the world are – Iceland, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, and Singapore, while the least peaceful are – Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. 

Palestine experienced the fourth largest deterioration in peacefulness in the latest peace index, dropping nine places to 145th. Its overall score deteriorated by 7.28 per cent, with all three domains deteriorating over the past year.

Although this was the largest year on year deterioration in peace in Palestine, the security climate had been getting worse for the past three years, with the country recording one of the largest deterioration in peacefulness of any country over the past decade.

The primary driver of Palestine’s fall in peacefulness was the conflict in Gaza, with the ongoing conflict domain deteriorating by just under 24 per cent. It is estimated that over 17,000 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza conflict in 2023, with the latest data indicating that this number had increased to over 33,000 as of April 2024 with some estimates placing the number much higher at over 100,000. 

In the global peace index, a total of 163 independent states and territories have been ranked according to their level of peacefulness, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population. 

The report presented the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. 

The GPI uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources and measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of societal safety and security; the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict; and the degree of militarisation.