Announcement

**Rasputin** · 05-31-2007, 07:12 AM

There'll no doubt be some violent debates over a new peace index just released today.

In a new global ranking of the world's most peaceful countries, the U.S. ranked at 96, just beating out Iran which came in at 97. Israel came in at 119, one notch above Sudan and two notches above Iraq which, understandably, came in last on the list as world's least peaceful nation. Download global_peace_index.pdf

Norway, New Zealand and Denmark led the index in that order. Canada was the leading Western Hemisphere nation on the list, coming in the eighth on the list.

According to a press statement, the new index was "initiated by Steve Killelea, global entrepreneur and Australian philanthropist, and developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Prominent endorsers of the project include HH Dalai Lama, President James Carter, Sir Richard Branson, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu."

Anyway, how could it be that the U.S. came in at 96?

The analysts at the Economist Intelligence Unit, part of the company that owns the Economist magazine, chose to assess countries based on 24 indicators for its first Global Peace Index.

The indicators, which were weighted by the importance the analysts attached to them, included the number of internal and external conflicts fought between 2000 to 2005; the number of deaths from organized internal conflict; and the number of homicides, jailed people, internal security personnel, and military transfers per 100,000 people of the population.

While some of the indicators had hard numbers, others were more qualitative and thus more subjective, like levels of respect for human rights or the level of distrust in other citizens.

At a press conference today, Leo Abruzzese, the Economist Intelligence Unit's editorial director, North America, said a higher ranking on the list correlated with a number of factors, including a nation being a highly functioning democracy with a high gross domestic product and a cohesive population.

Some countries were noticeably absent from the list, namely Afghanistan and North Korea. That was due to the inability to get data. Presumably, if they had been included, the U.S. would have ranked higher than both.

**Rasputin** · 05-31-2007, 07:13 AM

Israel is among the least peaceful nations in the world, along with Sudan and Iraq. This according to a study by The Economist intelligence unit. The most peaceful nations in the world are Norway, New Zealand and Denmark.

Some two dozen indicators were factored into the calculations. Among them were wars fought in the last five years, arms sales, political stability, relations with neighboring countries, human rights, overall percentage of state budget devoted to military causes, number of women in parliament, freedom of the press, immigration figures, male-to-female ratio, prison populations and incidence of crime.
Israel received 3,033 negative points. The index awarded 1-5 points for each parameter (1 being the most peaceful).

Israel received 4-5 points on the following – number of citizens serving in the military, relations with neighboring counties, military spenditure and potential terror attacks within the country. The index awarded Israel 1 point only for the number of refugees it plays host to and non-UN deployments this past year.

Israel's neighbors fared much better: Jordan ranked 63, Egypt – 73, Syria – 77 and Lebanon ranked 114.

Norway was rated as the country most at peace, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Portugal and Austria. Iraq was in last place, followed by Sudan, Israel, Russia, Nigeria, Colombia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Cote d' Ivoire and Angola.

The United States outranked Iran by only one spot, coming in at 96 and 97, respectively.

''The United States suffers because it is the world's policeman, with high levels of militarization,'' said Andrew Williamson, director for economic research, in an interview.

The data were drawn from the United Nations, the World Bank, peace groups and the intelligence unit's own assessments, Williamson said.

''We are just mechanics and technicians behind the index,'' he said, ''we are not making judgments about foreign policy."

''The United States arguably has kept the peace since 1945, but with a high level of defense spending,''

Leo Abruzzese, an editorial director for the intelligence unit, said at a news conference at which the report was released. ''It is not a value judgment,'' he said of the global rankings.

The study was financed by Steve Killelea, an Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist.

**Rasputin** · 05-31-2007, 07:14 AM

Norway leads peaceful nations

Norway is the most peaceful country in the world and Iraq the least, according to a study released yesterday.
The United States ranks 96, just above Iran, out of 121 countries studied, while Russia and Israel are near the bottom, at 118 and 119, respectively.
The Global Peace Index, the first such study, rates countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe on 24 factors including levels of violence, organized crime and military expenditure.
"This is a wake-up call for leaders around the globe," said Steve Killelea, who commissioned the study from the Economist Intelligence Unit, which is linked to the Economist magazine.
Norway, the peace-promoting Scandinavian country that brokered the 1993 Oslo Middle East accords and has sought to resolve fighting in Sri Lanka, is followed by New Zealand in second place and Denmark in third.
Iraq, which has been gripped by growing violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country, ranks at the bottom after Sudan.
Overall, the study found that small, stable countries that are part of regional blocs such as the 27-nation European Union are most likely to be more peaceful.
Income and education are crucial in promoting peace, the group said, while noting that countries that experienced turbulence in the 20th century, such as Ireland and Austria, have emerged as "peace leaders" in the 21st century.
"I believe there is a link between the peacefulness and the wealth of nations and therefore business has a key role to play in peace," Mr. Killelea said.
The 24 factors used to measure a country's peacefulness include ease of access to guns and small explosives, military expenditure, local corruption and the level of respect for human rights.
The United States has high levels of democracy and transparency in government, education and well-being -- factors that make for peaceful societies, the group said.
However, the U.S. ranking was brought down "by its engagement in warfare and external conflict, as well as high levels of incarceration and homicide," it said. The country's rank "also suffered due to the large share of military expenditure from its GDP, attributed to its status as one of the world's military-diplomatic powers," it said.
U.S. military spending for 2006 was estimated to be about 4 percent of gross domestic product, according the CIA World Factbook.
The group plans to publish the index annually for the next two years, and review the frequency of publication thereafter.

Announcement

Global Peace Index (Iran=96º Israel=37º)

Global Peace Index (Iran=96º Israel=37º)

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