78 countries engaged in conflict: World least peaceful since World War II, says report

[Editor's Note: Follow the KT live blog for live updates on the Israel-Iran conflict.]

There are currently 59 active state-based conflicts, the most since the end of WWII and three more than the previous year, according to a new study.

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 “Global peacefulness continues to decline and many of the leading factors that precede major conflicts are higher than they have been since the end of WWII. More countries are increasing their levels of militarisation against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, increasing conflict, the breakup of traditional alliances and rising economic uncertainty, according to Global Peace Index, released by Institute for Economics & Peace.

The study noted that there are currently 59 active state-based conflicts, the most since the end of WWII and three more than the previous year.

Some of the major cross-border disputes are Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, US-Russia, China-US, Iran-US, Israel-Syria, Armenia-Azerbaijan, India-Pakistan, EU-Russia, UK-Russia, US-Venezuela, Yemen-Saudi Arabia, Turkiye-USA, North Korea-US, Germany-Russia, China-Taiwan and many African countries.

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The attacks between Israel and Iran is the latest military conflict which has shaken global peace. Israel launched an attack on Iran on Friday, June 13, killing its senior military leadership and also targeted military and nuclear installations.

In addition, Ukraine-Russia is another major military conflict which involves multiple countries.

78 countries engaged in conflicts

The study ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population.

It said conflicts are also becoming more internationalised, making solutions more difficult as 78 countries are engaged in a conflict beyond their borders, blaming geopolitical fragmentation, increasing major power competition, and the rise in influence of middle level powers, who are becoming more active within their regions.

Importantly, it added that the almost two-decade-long trend of falling militarisation has also reversed, with 106 countries having deteriorated in the militarisation domain in the past two years.

“Additionally, the successful resolution of conflicts is lower than at any point in the last 50 years. Conflicts that ended in a decisive victory fell from 49 per cent in the 1970s to nine per cent in the 2010s, while conflicts that ended through peace agreements fell from 23 per cent to four per cent over the same period,” said the 19th edition of the Global Peace Index.

Most and least peaceful countries

This year’s results revealed that the level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.36 per cent, with 74 countries improving and 87 deteriorating.

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 Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland.

Russia, for the first time, is the least peaceful country in the world, followed by Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Yemen.

Regionally, Western and Central Europe is the most peaceful in the world while the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region remains the world’s least peaceful region.

South Asia is the second least peaceful region as its ranking deteriorated primarily due to repressive measures in Bangladesh under the previous government, and heightened cross-border tension between India and Pakistan.

South America was the only region to record an improvement in peacefulness last year as seven of the 11 countries improved.

Waheed Abbas

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.