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Jun 12, 2013 at 9:03 AM
Source - The HinduIndia ranks low at 141in this year’s Global Peace Index (GPI) that measured peace in 162 countries, according to 22 qualitative and quantitative indicators of the absence and fear of violence.
The major indicators that bring down India’s ranking are militarisation, domestic and international conflicts, and corruption.
However, despite an increase in military expenditure, India made positive gains in its level of peace after reductions in deaths from internal conflict and the level of perceived criminality in society, according to the 7th edition of the annual GPI released on Tuesday.
In the South Asian region, Sri Lanka is one notch above India at rank four while Bhutan is the most peaceful country. It is followed by Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in that order.
Globally, a dramatic rise in the number of homicides and 59 more countries increasing their military expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product were the key drivers in making the world a less peaceful place, according to the 2013 GPI.
This year’s findings underline a six-year trend showing a deterioration of five per cent in global peace. In this time, 110 countries have seen their score deteriorate while only 48 became more peaceful. The economic impact of this five per cent loss in peace came at a cost to the global economy of $473 billion last year.
Europe remains the most peaceful region comprising 13 of the top 20 countries, including Iceland, which continues to rank first.
