Global Peace Index 2022: the 10 safest and most dangerous countries in the world

Ukraine recorded the largest deterioration in the Global Peace Index while Iceland tops the charts

10th: With a low crime rate and high score for personal safety, Japan is one of the most liveable countries in the world. It pushed Switzerland and Canada outside of the top 10 this year. Hiro Komae / AP

9th: A low crime rate and high ease-of-business environment gives Singapore a high score. It has attracted a large number of expats and businesspeople who have left Hong Kong as a result of repeated pandemic lockdowns. Roslan Rahman / AFP

8th: At the heart of Europe, Czech Republic benefits from a strong economy, low crime rate and good transport ties. It ranks highly for its ecology and cleanliness, and its capital Prague attracted more than 2.4 million visitors in 2021. Milan Jaros / Bloomberg

7th: One of Europe's greenest countries, Slovenia is regarded as one of the most liveable places on the list. Jure Makovec / AFP

6th: Portugal has experienced a strong post-pandemic recovery and attracted high foreign investment, despite having one of the EU's heaviest debt burdens. Tourists have returned in their droves and an attractive long-term residency and citizenship scheme attracts many expats and foreign workers. AFP

5th: One of the most environmentally conscious nations in the world, Austria scores high on the list for peace, low crime, and liveability. Vienna is home to major international organisations including a dozen United Nations agencies. AFP

4th: Denmark scores highly for human rights, liveability and cleanliness. AFP

3rd: Dublin serves as the European headquarters of tech giants including Google and Facebook owner Meta. With heritage, history and a renowned sports culture, the Republic of Ireland sits close to the top of the chart. Reuters

2nd: The skyline of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The country ranks highly for peace, safety and happiness, despite high living costs. Its multicultural cities and welcoming people attract migrants from across the globe, and its handling of the pandemic was regarded as exemplary. Bloomberg

1st: Iceland tops the charts this year. Often ranked as among the happiest countries, its scores highly across every aspect of the peace index. Successful trials of a four-day working week in 2021 have been emulated around the world. AFP

Main story: Russia's war in Ukraine has 'turbocharged' decline in global peace

Afghanistan is the world's most dangerous country for the fifth consecutive year, but it is Ukraine which has recorded the largest deterioration in the Global Peace Index 2022.

Since Russian troops invaded the Eastern European country in February, it has fallen 17 places, to 153, in terms of its peacefulness.

Russia has also taken a hit, falling five places to 160 out of 163 countries. Both nations received a “very low” rating in the annual report.

Iceland was ranked number one, a position it has held since the inception of the index in 2008.

The five countries with the largest deteriorations were Ukraine, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Russia and Haiti, while the five countries that improved the most were Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Algeria.

Europe is the most peaceful region in the world, where seven of the ten safest countries are located.

Eight countries that appeared among the highest rankings in last year’s report remained among the top 10 again this year.

Singapore and Japan, which were ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, climbed the rating list this year, pushing Switzerland and Canada outside of the top 10, into 11th and 12th place respectively.

Yemen remains the most dangerous country in the Mena region for a second year in a row, ranking one place behind Afghanistan. Syria kept its position as the third most dangerous country in the world.

Despite the overall deterioration of global peace relative to 2021, 90 countries recorded an improvement in peacefulness this year, while 71 recorded a deterioration.

Significant low scores in “political instability”, “political terror”, “neighbouring country relations” and “refugees and IDPs” (internally displaced people) occurred in 2022, with these indicators reaching their worst levels since the inception of the index in 2008.

Other indicators to deteriorate were "deaths from external conflict" and "intensity of internal conflicts".

On a more positive note, there were substantial improvements to the scores of a number of indicators, including "terrorism impact", "nuclear and heavy weapons", "military expenditure" and "perceptions of criminality".

Terrorism impact is now at its best level in six years, however, the world is now less peaceful than it was at the inception of the index in 2008. The average level of country peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.2 per cent.

Global Peace Index 2022: 10 most dangerous countries