The index of North Macedonia has increased by 11 index points, and the country is on the 40th place in the world, while on the first place in the world is Iceland, and on the last place, 163, is Afghanistan.
After North Macedonia are Serbia (44th place), Albania (48th place), Montenegro (51st place), Bosnia and Herzegovina (72nd place) and 80th place among the Western Balkan countries is Kosovo.
According to the Institute, most of the Western Balkan countries are making progress towards peace, security and internal stability.
IEP ranks 163 independent countries and territories in the world, assessing the state of peace in those countries in the Peace index for 2021.
This year’s results show that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.07 per cent.
This is the ninth deterioration in peacefulness in the last thirteen years, with 87 countries improving, and 73 recording deteriorations; however, the change in score is the second smallest in the history of the index.
The 2021 GPI reveals a world in which the conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, only to be replaced with a new wave of tension and uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising tensions between many of the major powers. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peacefulness is still unfolding.
While some forms of violence declined in the short term, growing unease with lockdowns and rising economic uncertainty resulted in civil unrest increasing in 2020. Over 5,000 pandemic-related violent events were recorded between January 2020 and April 2021.
It is still too early to fully gauge the long-term effects of the pandemic on peace. However, the changing economic conditions in many nations increases the likelihood of political instability and violent demonstrations. Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia.
Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and Iraq. All, except Yemen, have been ranked amongst the five least peaceful nations since at least 2015, with Afghanistan having been ranked amongst the three least peaceful nations since 2010.
