Qatar is the most peaceful country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019. Qatar climbed 10 places to rank 31st among 163 countries on the index.

In the MENA region, Qatar was followed by Kuwait (43), the UAE (53), Oman (69), Jordan (77), Tunisia (82), Morocco (90), Algeria (111), Bahrain (124) and Saudi Arabia (129).

The index ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness using 23 different qualitative and quantitative indicators.

The indicators used to calculate the index fall in three categories: social safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflicts and the level of militarisation. 

A lower score means higher level of peace. Qatar secured a score of 1.696.

According to the report, Qatar made biggest improvement based on reductions in political terror, the homicide rate, and the intensity of internal conflict.

The report finds that the world became more peaceful for the first time in five years, with the average level of country peacefulness improving slightly by 0.09 per cent. The increase in peacefulness was the result of a reduction in the severity of several major conflicts worldwide, which led to decreases in deaths from internal conflict.

Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark also sit in the top five most peaceful rankings. 

The GPI is a report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace and developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected and collated by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The Index was first launched in 2007, with subsequent reports released annually.

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