UQ expert helps rank 121 countries on peacefulness

University of Queensland academic Professor Kevin Clements has chaired a review panel of leading experts from around the world who have ranked 121 countries according to their “peacefulness”.

Professor Clements, Director of UQ’s Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, chaired the Economist Intelligence Unit that formulated the Global Peace Index, the brainchild of Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea.

Professor Clements said the Index had been compiled from extensive research from Economist Intelligence Unit analysts internationally and was comprised of a broad range of 24 indicators measuring internal and external peacefulness of nations.

“The indicators include the levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure within a country,” he said.

“The Index has also been correlated against a range of social development indicators including democracy, transparency, education and well-being to better understand the determinants or “drivers” that create or sustain peace.”

Norway was found to be the most peaceful country using the Index, while New Zealand ranked second in the Asia Pacific region and Australia placed 25th overall.

The publication of the Index comes as the leaders of the world’s richest countries prepare to gather at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, from June 6-8.

The rankings show that even among the G8 countries there are significant differences in the peacefulness of nations.

Japan ranks the highest at five; Canada (eight) also falls in the top 10; and Germany ranks just outside (12). Italy (33), France (34) and the UK (49) rank in the top half of the table. The USA is listed 96th and Russia is in the bottom five (118).

The Index reveals that countries which had a turbulent time for parts of the 20th century such Ireland (four) and Austria (10) have emerged as peace leaders in the 21st century.

Professor Clements said the main findings of the Index were:

• Small, stable countries which are part of regional blocs such as the European Union are most likely to get a higher ranking;

• Internal peace is correlated for indicators such as income, schooling and the level of regional integration; and

• There is no single common factor which makes countries score poorly for external peace.

Media: For more information, contact: Professor Kevin Clements on k.clements@uq.edu.au, or Brad Turner at UQ Communications on (07) 3365 2659.