Canada is Seventh Most Peaceful Country in the World

Photo Credit: World Economic Forum/Twitter

Canada is still one of the most peaceful countries in the world.

For the second year in a row, Canada ranked seventh in the 2015 Global Peace Index, which ranks every country in the world from most to least peaceful.

The index measures factors much as militarization, security, and domestic and international conflict to determine the state of peace in each country.

Iceland once again was determined to be the most peaceful country in the world, followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Switzerland, and France as the countries deemed more peaceful than Canada. Japan, Australia, and the Czech Republic round out the top 10.

Syria was ranked as the least peaceful country for the second year in a row. Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic were also ranked in the bottom five countries.

Overall, the global peace levels remained stable compared to 2014. However, the division between the most and least peaceful nations is increasing. Since last year, 81 countries improved their levels of peacefulness, while 78 had their levels deteriorate.

Europe is the most peaceful region in the world and has improved in peacefulness each of the past four years. North America improved slightly due to the United States moving up two spots to 94^th as it lessened the presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Peacefulness in the Middle East is on the decline and the region was ranked at the bottom of the Index for the first time.

The Global Peace Index estimates that violence cost 13.4 per cent of the world GDP in 2015, which is equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K.