MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman has emerged as one of the most improved countries, with 16 places up to secure the 48th spot worldwide, according to Global Peace Index 2023 recently released by the Institute for Economics and Peace. This year, Oman received 1.794 score with 18 points improvement according to the index. Last year, the country was ranked 64th globally. This remarkable achievement reflects Oman’s efforts in promoting peace, stability and harmony within its borders.
With the new rankings, the Sultanate of Oman is ranked third in MENA region, which is led by Qatar at 21st place, followed by Kuwait at 35th. Completing the top five in the region include Jordan at 62nd place and the UAE at 75th.
The Global Peace Index, published annually by the IEP, provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of peace in countries around the world. It evaluates various factors, including levels of violence, crime rates, political instability, militarisation, and societal safety to determine a nation's peacefulness.
The index ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Iceland remains the most peaceful county globally, a position it has held since 2008, while Denmark replaced Ireland to the number two spot.
The index said the average level of country peacefulness deteriorated by 0.42 per cent in the 2023 Global Peace Index. This is the ninth consecutive year that global peacefulness has deteriorated. The average level of peacefulness has only improved twice year-on-year since 2008.
In the past year, 84 countries recorded an improvement, while 79 countries recorded a deterioration in peacefulness. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences were the main drivers of the deterioration in peacefulness globally. Both Russia and Ukraine are now ranked amongst the ten least peaceful countries, and Ukraine had the largest deterioration of any country in the 2023 GPI.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region recorded the second largest improvement in peacefulness after North America, however it remained the world’s least peaceful region. Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and is home to seven of the ten most peaceful countries. However, it deteriorated on all three GPI domains over the past year, as tensions between European countries and Russia continued to grow. Europe is less peaceful now than it was 15 years ago, the index added.
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