World's least peaceful countries in 2023 – ranked

2022 was the deadliest year for armed conflict since 1994, the Institute for Peace and Economy said

Taliban personnel surround prisoners in Kandahar. AFP

Afghanistan remains the world’s least peaceful country for the eighth year running, according to the 2023 Global Peace Index published on Wednesday.

The violence in the conflict-scarred nation incurred a high economic cost, totalling 46.5 per cent of its GDP in 2022.

Yemen came in second place, followed by Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, Ukraine, Somalia, Sudan and Iraq.

In sombre news, the index noted 2022 as the deadliest year overall in the history of the GPI, and in terms of armed conflict specifically – since the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.

Out of three domains – safety and security, ongoing conflict and militarisation – only the latter improved worldwide last year, although many countries noted increased military expenditure owing to the war in Ukraine.

Almost 80 countries recorded a deterioration in peacefulness last year, with Ukraine suffering the worst deterioration of any country in the index.

While the Middle East and North Africa remains the least peaceful region worldwide, it noted some of the biggest improvements, including in Libya, which is in its most peaceful state since the start of the second civil war in 2014, and Oman, where military spending was reduced.

Yemen came bottom of the Mena ranking, while Qatar was ranked the most peaceful country in the region.

Despite Afghanistan's poor ranking, it also recorded one of the largest improvements in peacefulness, with conflict decreasing “significantly” and conflict-related deaths falling by 91 per cent.

Improvements in UN peacekeeping funding, reduced intensity of internal conflict and improved armed services personnel also contributed to advances in two domains, the report said.

The impact of terrorism also fell for a fourth consecutive year, the institute said, while maintaining that terrorism remains a “serious security concern” in the country.

While the Taliban has claimed it has improved the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, attacks continue across the country, including against the few schools still open to girls following the group’s crackdown on women and girls’ freedoms.

Attacks on mosques have also been attributed to the ongoing rivalry between the Taliban and ISIS.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in bombings and other violence since the Taliban takeover almost two years ago, the UN said on Tuesday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a serious regional and global impact, and was the main driver of the huge cost of violence on the global economy, which totalled $17.5 trillion in 2022.

While the war in Ukraine has had a serious regional and global impact, the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region led to more than 100,000 deaths last year, against upwards of 82,000 in Ukraine.

The index noted the Tigray violence as the “single deadliest event since 1994.”

Conflict-related deaths also increased by 154 per cent in Mali.