The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has published its 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI), which measures nations by their internal state of peace. And out of a list of 163 nations, the U.S. ranks 131st.
What went wrong for the U.S.? For starters, the Global Peace Index works with in three domains – the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization. Within those domains are 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators that include such factors as the level of perceived criminality in society, the number of refugees and internally displaced people, number of homicides per 100,000 people, the number of internal security officers and police per 100,000 peoplethe likelihood of violent protests and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Needless to say, the proverbial deck is stacked the U.S. gaining a high rating.
Thus, the GPI for 2023 considered Iceland as the most peaceful place on Earth and Afghanistan as the least peaceful. For the rest of the planet, this is how the nations ranked:
| RANK | REGION | SCORE |
| 1 | Iceland | 1.124 |
| 2 | Denmark | 1.31 |
| 3 | Ireland | 1.312 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 1.313 |
| 5 | Austria | 1.316 |
| 6 | Singapore | 1.332 |
| 7 | Portugal | 1.333 |
| 8 | Slovenia | 1.334 |
| 9 | Japan | 1.336 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 1.339 |
| 11 | Canada | 1.35 |
| 12 | Czechia | 1.379 |
| 13 | Finland | 1.399 |
| 14 | Croatia | 1.45 |
| 15 | Germany | 1.456 |
| 16 | Netherlands | 1.49 |
| 17 | Bhutan | 1.496 |
| 18 | Hungary | 1.508 |
| 19 | Malaysia | 1.513 |
| 20 | Belgium | 1.523 |
| 21 | Qatar | 1.524 |
| 22 | Australia | 1.525 |
| 23 | Mauritius | 1.546 |
| 24 | Norway | 1.55 |
| 25 | Estonia | 1.563 |
| 26 | Slovakia | 1.578 |
| 27 | Latvia | 1.582 |
| 28 | Sweden | 1.625 |
| 29 | Poland | 1.634 |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 1.643 |
| 31 | Romania | 1.649 |
| 32 | Spain | 1.649 |
| 33 | Taiwan | 1.649 |
| 34 | Italy | 1.662 |
| 35 | Kuwait | 1.669 |
| 36 | Lithuania | 1.671 |
| 37 | United Kingdom | 1.693 |
| 38 | North Macedonia | 1.713 |
| 39 | Costa Rica | 1.731 |
| 40 | Albania | 1.745 |
| 41 | Vietnam | 1.745 |
| 42 | Botswana | 1.762 |
| 43 | South Korea | 1.763 |
| 44 | Mongolia | 1.765 |
| 45 | Montenegro | 1.772 |
| 46 | Laos | 1.779 |
| 47 | Sierra Leone | 1.792 |
| 48 | Oman | 1.794 |
| 49 | Timor-Leste | 1.796 |
| 50 | Uruguay | 1.798 |
| 51 | Ghana | 1.799 |
| 52 | Senegal | 1.827 |
| 53 | Indonesia | 1.829 |
| 54 | Argentina | 1.837 |
| 55 | Madagascar | 1.846 |
| 56 | Namibia | 1.859 |
| 57 | Moldova | 1.873 |
| 58 | Chile | 1.874 |
| 59 | The Gambia | 1.888 |
| 60 | Greece | 1.89 |
| 61 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.892 |
| 62 | Jordan | 1.895 |
| 63 | Zambia | 1.898 |
| 64 | Cyprus | 1.904 |
| 65 | Serbia | 1.921 |
| 66 | Armenia | 1.929 |
| 67 | France | 1.939 |
| 68 | Panama | 1.942 |
| 68 | Paraguay | 1.942 |
| 70 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1.946 |
| 70 | Kosovo | 1.946 |
| 70 | Liberia | 1.946 |
| 73 | Cambodia | 1.947 |
| 74 | Malawi | 1.97 |
| 75 | United Arab Emirates | 1.979 |
| 76 | Kazakhstan | 1.98 |
| 77 | Jamaica | 1.986 |
| 78 | Bolivia | 2.001 |
| 79 | Nepal | 2.006 |
| 80 | China | 2.009 |
| 81 | Tunisia | 2.01 |
| 82 | Equatorial Guinea | 2.013 |
| 83 | Dominican Republic | 2.019 |
| 84 | Morocco | 2.02 |
| 84 | Angola | 2.02 |
| 86 | Uzbekistan | 2.033 |
| 87 | Guinea-Bissau | 2.045 |
| 88 | Bangladesh | 2.051 |
| 88 | Rwanda | 2.051 |
| 90 | Côte d’Ivoire | 2.053 |
| 91 | Tanzania | 2.058 |
| 92 | Thailand | 2.061 |
| 93 | Gabon | 2.068 |
| 94 | Georgia | 2.071 |
| 95 | Azerbaijan | 2.09 |
| 96 | Algeria | 2.094 |
| 97 | Ecuador | 2.095 |
| 97 | Papua New Guinea | 2.095 |
| 99 | Cuba | 2.103 |
| 100 | Turkmenistan | 2.107 |
| 101 | Kyrgyz Republic | 2.11 |
| 102 | Tajikistan | 2.114 |
| 103 | Guatemala | 2.13 |
| 103 | Peru | 2.13 |
| 103 | Togo | 2.13 |
| 106 | Guyana | 2.134 |
| 107 | Sri Lanka | 2.136 |
| 108 | Bahrain | 2.145 |
| 109 | Eswatini | 2.168 |
| 110 | Benin | 2.177 |
| 111 | Lesotho | 2.191 |
| 112 | Djibouti | 2.196 |
| 113 | Republic of the Congo | 2.21 |
| 114 | Mauritania | 2.228 |
| 115 | Philippines | 2.229 |
| 116 | Belarus | 2.248 |
| 117 | Kenya | 2.254 |
| 118 | Mozambique | 2.259 |
| 119 | Saudi Arabia | 2.26 |
| 120 | Honduras | 2.265 |
| 121 | Egypt | 2.267 |
| 122 | El Salvador | 2.279 |
| 123 | Nicaragua | 2.294 |
| 124 | Zimbabwe | 2.3 |
| 124 | Uganda | 2.3 |
| 126 | India | 2.314 |
| 127 | Guinea | 2.359 |
| 128 | Burundi | 2.393 |
| 129 | Haiti | 2.395 |
| 130 | South Africa | 2.405 |
| 131 | United States of America | 2.448 |
| 132 | Brazil | 2.462 |
| 133 | Eritrea | 2.505 |
| 134 | Palestine | 2.538 |
| 135 | Lebanon | 2.581 |
| 136 | Mexico | 2.599 |
| 137 | Libya | 2.605 |
| 138 | Niger | 2.625 |
| 139 | Cameroon | 2.66 |
| 140 | Venezuela | 2.693 |
| 140 | Colombia | 2.693 |
| 142 | Chad | 2.699 |
| 143 | Israel | 2.706 |
| 144 | Nigeria | 2.713 |
| 145 | Myanmar | 2.741 |
| 146 | Pakistan | 2.745 |
| 147 | Türkiye | 2.8 |
| 147 | Iran | 2.8 |
| 149 | North Korea | 2.848 |
| 150 | Burkina Faso | 2.868 |
| 151 | Ethiopia | 2.872 |
| 152 | Central African Republic | 2.934 |
| 153 | Mali | 2.963 |
| 154 | Iraq | 3.006 |
| 155 | Sudan | 3.023 |
| 156 | Somalia | 3.036 |
| 157 | Ukraine | 3.043 |
| 158 | Russia | 3.142 |
| 159 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3.214 |
| 160 | South Sudan | 3.221 |
| 161 | Syria | 3.294 |
| 162 | Yemen | 3.35 |
| 163 | Afghanistan | 3.448 |
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