The World Is More Peaceful In 2008

The global thinktank the Institute for Economics and Peace conducted an index
measuring internal and external conflict in 140 countries. “The world appears to be a
marginally more peaceful place this year,” said Steve Killelea, the Australian technology
entrepreneur and founder of the Global Peace Index. “This is encouraging, but it takes
small steps by individual countries for the world to make greater strides on the road to
peace.”
Iceland was found to be #1 most peaceful country on the list. Ingibjor Solrun
Gisladottiir, Iceland’s minister of foreign affairs, accepted the honor saying, “We are
very pleased that the index confirms the core values of a small democratic society in the
north which has never had a military and has effectively practiced peace for hundreds of
years.” The Guardian UK notes that Iceland has the lowest proportion of its citizens in
jail of all 140 countries surveyed.
To no surprise, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan took the bottom of the index, while several
larger, richer countries seemed to place in the middle. France ranked at #36 and the
United Kingdom at #49, and the United States barely broke the top 100 at #97. Like in
previous indexes, Scandinavian countries continued to rank favorably. The only G8
representative to make it in the top 10 was Japan. Indonesia, Angola, and India showed
the most improvements in moving away from internal and external turmoil, with all three
ranking higher than in previous years.
The survey concludes that on average, political instability, terrorism, and violent crime
are somewhat better in 2008. In contrast, however, the world’s armed services have
grown on average per country, as has the sophistication of weaponry.
Sponsor Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated that business could play a major part in
bringing peace to troubled areas, as the survey seems to indicate. “You ultimately can’t
have business where you have conflict,” he said. “So it is in the nature of self-interest to
promote the kind of circumstances and the kind of environment where you can carry out
your business when there is peace.”