According to the 2025 report, just issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), global peacefulness continues to decline, where more countries are dedicating more of their budgets to militarisation as geopolitical tensions rise, traditional alliances weaken, and economic uncertainty continues unabated.
The results from 2025 found that the average level of global peacefulness had fallen by 0.36%, which marks the 13th fall in peacefulness in the last 17 years, with 74 countries improving and 87 countries deteriorating in peacefulness.
The Global Peace Index
These dire results come out of the 19th edition of the Global Peace Index, a thorough analysis of the relationship between economics and peace. The Global Peace Index is widely recognised as the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness.
The Global Peace Index uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure the state of peace across three domains: the level of ‘Societal Safety and Security,’ the extent of ‘Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict,’ and the degree of ‘Militarization.’ As a result, it provides a complete look into the exact measures of peace and how we may maintain it or drive either away from it or towards it.
It also looks into the economic impact of peace or lack thereof, in all the regions destabilised by war, and assesses the economic impacts felt as well as how the hierarchy of global power has shifted. And some of the findings are quite surprising.
The Most Peaceful Region in the World: Western and Central Europe
In terms of the world’s most peaceful regions, Western and central Europe tops the board again, hosting eight of the ten most peaceful countries in the world, with Iceland topping the list for the 18th time in a row.
However, it must be noted that even here this level of peacefulness has been declining in recent years as the world’s least peaceful country in the world, Russia, is engaging in direct conflict with Ukraine. Given that wars are now more ‘internationalised’ as they are waged beyond a country’s borders, this consistency may not last.
The Least Peaceful Region: Middle East and North Africa
On the other hand, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the world’s least peaceful region, with escalations in tensions and armed conflict rife across the board.
This comes as no surprise given the two wars currently taking place in the region: Gaza and the Israel-Iran conflict. Even though the latter conflict is supposed to be on pause after the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 21.
Whether this cease-fire will work out and lead to a resolution of the conflict remains to be seen. At the time of writing (June 24), President Trump was hoping for peace and chiding the opponents for firing at each other as he “mediates” the conflict through a series of posts on his Truth Social platform.
A Shift in the World’s Geopolitical Structure: Global Power Fragmentation
Another important shift noted by the report is what they call ‘global power fragmentation’. This concept describes a reimagining of the ‘global powers’ where typical countries may no longer immediately spring to mind.
According to the Global Peace Index 2025, there are now 34 countries that are considered to have ‘substantial influence’ in another country, which is a steep increase from the sole six in the 1970s, namely: Germany, France, UK, USA, and China.
The report argues that this may be partially driven by China and the US having reached or being close to the limits of their influence.
More Power to the Rising Middle Economies
Here’s another important observation made by the report authors: More power will shift, they argue, to rising middle economies while most Western powers struggle economically.
However, it is too soon to tell how this shift in power dynamic may unfold; likewise, the potential impacts on regional as well as on international conflicts remain to be seen.
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The Staggering Cost of Violence: Close to $20 trillion
One thing is certain: Violence remains a catastrophic feature in our world. In terms of the economic impact on the global economy in 2024, the cost of violence to the global economy was huge: $19.97 trillion in purchasing power parity terms (PPT). This figure is equivalent to 11.6% of the world’s economic activity (gross world product), or on average $2,446 per person.
These are staggering figures that outline the severe economic impact of war and violence.
A Silver Lining?
Despite the negative decline in global peace, the Global Peace Index 2025 indicates that one of the main ways to move forward is to promote ‘Positive Peace.’
This refers to the attitudes, approaches, institutions and structures that promote peaceful societies. Positive Peace is strongly correlated with higher GDP growth, lower interest rates, societal wellbeing, and better resilience to unexpected shocks. The IEP’s yearly ‘Positive Peace Report’ analyses peacefulness on the basis of eight pillars ranging from: low levels of corruption, well functioning government to free flow of information.
As noted by the IEP’s 2024 Positive Peace Report, countries that saw the greatest improvements in positive peace between the years 2013 and 2022 were Uzbekistan, Armenia, The Gambia, Taiwan, and Ireland.
Uzbekistan, which topped the list, implemented thorough administrative reforms. They have closed the chapter of post-Soviet isolationism and entered a new one where the country liberated its exchange rate regime and began easing visa requirements and announced tax charges with the intention of attracting international investors. They have also made active efforts to reduce corruption by implementing an anti-corruption framework. Economic growth and stability have been on the rise as Uzbekistan has moved forward, reaping the benefits of a positive peace approach.
Also in the Russian and Eurasian continent, which saw the greatest improvements in positive peace between 2013 and 2022, was Armenia. Despite being slightly let down by their recent geopolitical tensions with neighbouring Azerbaijan, they saw the largest improvement in information access. Armenia’s telecom infrastructure index indicator improved by 35.4% since 2013, which resulted in the overall improvement in the Free Flow of Information Pillar.
A thorough report with interesting findings that looks to the past to decipher the somewhat uncertain future as geopolitical landscapes shift seismically and economic stability is no longer commonplace. However, certain countries have made some positive strides in promoting peace and improving their governments to ensure a better future for their citizens.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. Cover Photo Credit: Jaber Jehad Badwan / Wikimedia Commons.
