Nigeria is 17th least peaceful country in 2021 ― Global Peace Index

On the day that dozens of schoolgirls and their teachers were seized by terrorists at the Federal Government Girls College in Kebbi State and four Chinese workers were kidnapped in Ogun State, the Global Peace Index (GPI) ranked Nigeria 146th least peaceful of 163 countries for 2021.

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.

Nigeria also emerged 33rd least peaceful country out of the 44 countries polled in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The good news, however, was that it moved up one step from its 2020 position 147 when it also gained one position of its 148th ranking in 2019.

GPI, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, measures the state of peace in countries and gave Nigeria a score of 2.872 with Syria being the least peaceful country getting a score of 3.828.

The report gave $139,227.1 as the economic impact of violence in 2020 on purchasing power parity (PPP), while the impact per capita in relation to 2020 PPP was 675.4.

Economic cost as a percentage of GDP was 11 per cent while the economic cost of violence based on 2020 PPP was $119,018.0.

GPI covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of Societal Safety and Security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarisation.

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.

According to the 19th edition of the report, 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.

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Nigeria is 17th least peaceful country in 2021 ― Global Peace Index