Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh has secured the 93rd position among 163 countries in the Global Peace Index for 2024, with a score of 2.126.
This places Bangladesh ahead of India, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries, but behind Bhutan and Nepal.
India scored 2.319, ranking 116th, while Pakistan scored 2.783 and ranked 140th. Bhutan, topping among South Asian countries, secured the 21st rank with a score of 1.564, followed by Nepal at 81st place with a score of 2.069.
According to the report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace on Tuesday, Bangladesh scored 2.515 in the domain of domestic and international conflict, 2.322 in societal safety and security, and 1.506 in militarization.
The domains were measured on a 5-point scale, where lower scores indicate higher levels of peace.
Bangladesh’s state of peace has been categorized as medium, among six categories ranging from very high to not included. Bhutan continues to be the most peaceful country in the South Asia region, a position it has maintained since 2011.
It is now ranked just outside the top 20 most peaceful countries globally.
Bhutan also recorded the largest increase in peacefulness in the region over the past year, with its overall score improving by 2.6%.
Afghanistan, despite one of the largest improvements last year, recorded a deterioration in 2024, particularly in the domains of Militarisation and Safety and Security. The report attributed this to the Taliban’s increase in military size, impacting armed forces rates, and minor deteriorations in perceptions of criminality and violent demonstrations.
Nepal saw the largest fall in peacefulness in the region, with its overall score declining by 2.5%. Factors contributing to this decline included increases in external conflicts fought, reduced UN peacekeeping funding, and negative perceptions of criminality. The report noted that 39% of Nepalese do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods or cities at night.
India, the largest country in South Asia, saw a 1.6% improvement in its peacefulness over the past year, reaching its highest level since the inception of the index. However, the report cautioned about ongoing security challenges, including tensions with neighbouring countries and border clashes with China in late 2022.
Globally, the GPI showed a fifth consecutive year of decline in peacefulness, with the average level deteriorating by 0.56%. Of the 162 countries covered, 97 witnessed a decrease in peace, while 65 saw improvements.
The most peaceful countries in the world include Iceland, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, and Singapore, while the least peaceful are Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful, hosting four of the ten least peaceful countries, including Sudan and Yemen as the worst.
The report also highlighted the impact of the Palestine-Israel conflict on global peacefulness, with both countries experiencing significant deteriorations in their rankings.
The primary driver of Palestine’s fall in peacefulness was the conflict in Gaza, with the Ongoing Conflict domain deteriorating by just under 24 per cent.
It is estimated that over 17,000 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza conflict in 2023, with the latest data indicating that this number had increased to over 33,000 as of April 2024 with some estimates placing the number much higher at over 100,000.
Palestine ranked 145th with a score 2.872 while Israel ranked 155th with a score 3.115. The conflict in Gaza and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine were the primary drivers of the fall in peacefulness.