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99 countries become less peaceful last year, worst slide in 20 years, says Global Peace Index
Drone attacks have surged 11,500% in seven years; AI systems are now making life-and-death battlefield decisions in seconds, as the economic cost of violence hits a record $21.81 trillion
- PUBLISHED: Tue 9 Jun 2026, 1:16 PM
The world became more dangerous in the past year, with 99 countries recording a deterioration in peacefulness, the steepest single-year decline since the Global Peace Index (GPI) was first published two decades ago, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Released by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), it found that 119 countries — or 73 per cent of all nations tracked — are now less peaceful than when the index was launched in 2007. The number of active, state-based conflicts has reached 61, the highest tally since the end of the Second World War.
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Iceland retains its position as the world's most peaceful country for the 19th consecutive year, followed by New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Ireland.
Russia holds the bottom position for the first time, followed by Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, and Israel.
South Asia recorded the steepest regional deterioration: Nepal dropped 26 places – the largest single-country fall anywhere in the index – while Pakistan slid to 152nd. The US fell to its lowest-ever ranking of 134th, driven by political instability and a surge in violent demonstrations.
"The most significant of these clusters is the arc of instability now stretching from South Asia through Iran and the Middle East, and into the Horn of Africa," Killelea warned.
The economic toll is staggering. The global impact of violence rose 3.2 per cent to a record $21.81 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 10.5 per cent of world GDP. For the ten most conflict-affected nations, that burden averages 23.4 per cent of GDP – more than ten times the figure for the world's most peaceful countries.
“As the ‘Great Fragmentation’ intensifies, the institutions of peace are being outpaced by rapid changes in geopolitics and technology, and governments are struggling to keep up,” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of IEP.
AI and drones shaping the world
Perhaps no finding in this year's index is more arresting than the transformation of warfare by technology.
Drone attacks surged by more than 11,500 per cent between 2018 and 2025, deployed not only by nation-states but by 565 armed groups. Artificial intelligence has compressed targeting timelines from a full day to mere seconds.
“AI and autonomous drone technology are making life and death decisions with human oversight reduced to seconds. Governance systems are lagging behind real-world events as civilian casualties soar. The humanitarian consequences are considerable,” said Steve Killelea.
The Middle East sits at the epicentre of this global deterioration. The report describes the war in Iran as a "massive geopolitical force multiplier," rippling instability far beyond the immediate conflict zone. Israel is ranked 159th out of 163 countries in the index, placing it among the five least peaceful nations on earth.
In the Gaza Strip, the scale of destruction is near-total. Some 81 per cent of all structures have been damaged or destroyed, and cumulative conflict deaths are estimated to have surpassed 100,000.
The number of countries engaged in external conflict has nearly doubled – from 59 in 2008 to 103 in 2026 – underscoring how conflict has become increasingly internationalised.
Record military spending
Global military expenditure reached a record $2.9 trillion in 2025, driven in large part by Europe's sharp reversal of decades-long demilitarisation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Excluding the United States, military spending rose by 9.2 per cent, the annual report said.
Sudan's civil war is identified as the world's most severe humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 150,000 killed and more than 12 million displaced.
