Global Peace Index

Some countries across the globe like Norway, Australia and New Zealand are often revered as being highly peaceful and economically stable. In contrast, other countries like Afghanistan are frequently making it to the headlines for being in a state of turmoil. This variation of socio-political state across nations is analysed using 23 indicators (qualitative and quantitative) and makes up the global peace index. 

It refers to a report which is produced annually every year by the IEP or the Institute for Economics and Peace, ranking states and territories on the basis of how peaceful they are. 

The position of India in such national and international indices is important from the perspective of UPSC Prelims. Thus, candidates must carefully go through the findings of the latest Global Peace Index, discussed further below in this article.

To know in detail about the other Global Indices and India’s Ranking in each of them, aspirants can visit the linked article. 

Global Peace Index [UPSC Notes]:-Download PDF Here

Global Peace Index Methodology

The UPSC exam typically consists of questions pertaining to how the level of state peace is quantified and assessed. To answer that, you need to consider the methodology which it uses. 

The Global Peace Index 2021 ranks have revealed that Iceland, New Zealand, and Denmark had taken the top three positions, and these positions are based on their involvement in domestic and international conflicts. It should be quite self-explanatory that the peace of a state is at the hands of its politics. So, the methodology for the ranking includes ten broad indicators. These include crime rates, incidents of terrorism, violent uprisings, relations with neighbouring countries, refugee crisis, and so on. Each of these indicators uses a distinct source to obtain its information. 

Apart from these, since 2017, 13 other indicators have also been added to the way the state peacefulness is assessed. Some of these additional indicators include the terror associated with politics, the overall likelihood of violence at any given time, the number of persons jailed per 100,000 people, transport volume of weapons, and so on. These indicators hint at how the state of peace is affected by highly nuanced and specific reasons. 

Global Peace Index 2022 India Rank

In the case of India and its peace index, the IAS preparation typically includes some common knowledge about the socio-economic state of the country. For example, in 2021, the rank of India on the global scale was at number 135, indicating that its economic and political conditions are highly dysfunctional. 

The reasons for that ranking can be due to the country’s aggregate score, which stands at 2.553, hinting that the findings of the GPI for India had been significantly poor. When compared to other countries’ contexts like the US and the UK, it can be seen that the UK has been recorded to be a lot less violent at rank 33, whereas, like India, the US has also ranked low at number 122. The current affairs quiz for UPSC could potentially contain questions pertaining to these kinds of comparisons, since it draws attention to the national as well as the global state of peace. 

One of the major factors that the UPSC notes attribute to such rankings is the state of internal conflicts, which, in the case of India, has been quite tumultuous in 2021. As the country saw a massive economic dip due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, the social tensions also worsened with the nationwide riots and protests against the farmer’s bill. Events like these have a major influence on national peace and economic stability, especially in a country like India, where the political environment is almost always in a state of dissonance. 

The Global Peace Index 2021 has revealed where India stands in comparison with other countries regarding national and international peacefulness, and what accounts for its global rank. The onset of COVID- 19 has affected the peace and national economy at a drastic rate. To add fire to the fuel, the state of internal conflicts has only worsened the situation. The situation is thus not only in India, but also for countries like the US, Afghanistan, and so on. So, the prospect of GPI entails these factors. 

Global Peace Index [UPSC Notes]:-Download PDF Here