The U.S. ranks 114th among the most peaceful countries, according to a global index.
Six of the world’s nine regions became more peaceful in the last year. (Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)
A new study finds the world has become slightly more peaceful in the last year.
The eleventh annual study published on Thursday by the Institute for Economics and Peace scored 163 independent states and territories according to their levels of peacefulness. It found the world became 0.28 percent more peaceful compared to last year, with 93 countries improving in peacefulness and only 68 deteriorating.
Researchers considered 23 peace indicators to determine scores, including the number of casualties from terrorism and conflicts in that country, the number of murders per capita and the ratio of military spending to gross domestic product. Each indicator was scored on a 5-point scale.
Iceland topped the list with the lowest score, or peace index, making it the most peaceful country – a title it has held since 2008.
Europe remains the most peaceful geographic region in the world despite terrorist attacks in some countries, claiming eight of the top 10 places ranked on a number of peace factors. Of note, England's recent Manchester Arena attack did not fall within the scope of the data.
Six of the world's nine regions became more peaceful, with the largest overall improvement being recorded in South America, which saw notable improvements in Guyana, Argentina, Peru and Paraguay, according to the findings.
Peace trends over the last decade, however, are a bit more grim.
The global peace level has deteriorated by 2.14 percent since the organization released its 2008 index, with an increase in both battle deaths and deaths from terrorism during that time. Eighty countries improved during the last decade, while 83 countries deteriorated, according to the study.
[MORE: Most Think the World Has Gotten Worse in the Last Year, Survey Says]
North America's regional peace score fell in large part because of the United States. While Canada saw an improvement, its score was offset by a much larger drop in America's peace ranking.
The U.S. ranked 114th out of 163 in the global assessment, falling from 103rd and 94th in the 2016 and 2015 Global Peace Indexes, respectively.
"The past year has been a deeply worrying one for the US, with the presidential campaign highlighting the deep divisions within American society," according to the study.
Data highlighted a declining level of trust in the U.S. government, as well as growing social problems such as income inequality, heightened racial tensions and rising homicide rates in several major American cities.
The Middle East and North Africa was the least peaceful region in the world, holding on to the title it has held since 2015. Syria remains the world's least peaceful country for the second year running. It has ranked among the world's five least peaceful countries since the start of the civil war in 2013, according to the study.
It is worth nothing, though, that there have been some global improvements over the last decade, with 67 percent of countries seeing a drop in homicide rates. And "most peaceful," it seems, does not necessarily mean "best." Countries that rank high in the 2017 U.S. News Best Countries rankings do not necessarily earn the top spots on the most peaceful list.
These are the world's most peaceful countries, according to a data analysis by the Institute for Economics and Peace:
Country Most Peaceful Rank Peace Index Overall Best Countries Rank
Iceland 1 1.111 Not Ranked
New Zealand 2 1.241 14
Portugal 3 1.258 24
Austria 4 1.265 18
Denmark 5 1.337 12
Czech Republic 6 1.36 37
Slovenia 7 1.364 53
Canada 8 1.371 2
Switzerland 9 1.373 1
Ireland 10 1.408 21
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