New Zealand peace capital of the world

3 Jun 2009, 8:26 am   -   Source: AAP
0 Comments
Share This
+ Comment
0
New Zealand has topped the list of the most peaceful nations in the world (Getty Images)

New Zealand has topped the list of the most peaceful nations in the world (Getty Images)

New Zealand has been named the most peaceful country on earth in the latest Global Peace Index, with Australia just scrapping into the top 20.

If it's peace you're looking for, New Zealand is the place to be.

Our Pacific neighbour has been named the most peaceful country on earth in the latest Global Peace Index, an annual ranking of 144 nations on the basis of how peaceful they are.

Australia was 19th, sandwiched between Switzerland at 18th and Chile at 20th, and an eight-spot improvement on last year.

Read the entire list here.

New Zealand scored top position thanks to its relatively low rate of violence, decrease in military spending and the election of a conservative coalition government last year.

"The centre-right National Party has a strong popular mandate and a robust parliamentary majority by New Zealand's standards, putting the new Prime Minister, John Key, in a good position to push through his agenda," the report states.

The Kiwi nation also got top marks for its homicide rate and the level of respect for human rights.

Iceland falls three places

It replaces Iceland, which has seen an increase in violence and violent demonstrations following the banking collapse that engulfed its economy in September.

Nordic nations dominated the top of the chart, with Denmark, Norway and Iceland coming second, third and fourth, followed by Austria and Sweden.

Professor Kevin Clements, director of New Zealand's National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, said the index was a pretty good reflection of countries people want to live in.

"If you look at the top 20, they are all small nations based on strong welfare principles, all with good and relatively uncorrupt governance," Clements said.

Iraq bottom of list

Securely nailed to the bottom of the list was Iraq, which has claimed the wooden spoon three years running.

It sits below Afghanistan, Somalia and Israel, followed by Sudan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Pakistan, Russia and Zimbabwe.

Britain made 35th place, a slight improvement on last year, while the United States came in 83rd, six places up the ladder from 2008.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.