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(NYASATIMES) Malawi ranked top two on Peace Index

Malawi ranked top two on Peace Index
By Nyasa Times
Published: June 3, 2009

President Bingu wa Mutharika inspecting a guard of honour mounted by Malawi Defence Force in a country ranked as most peaceful

Malawi state of ‘peacefulness’ has ranked the second in the African continent, according to a report released by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a research centre that looks at the relationship between economics and peace.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) report released Tuesday shows that out of the 144 countries surveyed, Malawi ranked 47th overall globally and came second after Botswana in the league of Africa countries.

North African countries Tunisia and Libya who had better ranking than Malawi were sampled together with Middle-east countries.

Apart from Botswana and Malawi on top two places, other peaceful countries in Africa are Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique.

The region’s economic power house, South Africa is ranked 123 out of 144 countries falling fifteen places compared with GPI 2008, the Institute said in a statement.

New Zealand ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Norway while Iraq maintained the world’s least peaceful country remaining in 144th position.

In the Index, supported by Nobel Laureates Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Professor Joseph Stiglitz and former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, and businessman Richard Branson, peace is defined as “the absence of violence.”

The think-thank measured nations according to 24 criteria such as the potential for terror attacks, the level of violent crime, or the number of conflicts it is fighting..

The Institute for Economics and Peace list was created after the start of the global recession, finding the financial meltdown was dragging the world toward political instability and conflict.

Many of the indicators which it used to measure peacefulness — such as a nation’s homicide rate or its level of military expenditure — had deteriorated as the world economy tanked.

The institute laid out its key findings ahead of the publication of its annual “Global Peace Index,” a report prepared in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Malawi ranking is expected to hold its top place in the peace league in the 2009 survey after holding peaceful elections this year.

Labels: GLOBAL PEACE INDEX, MALAWI, PEACE

posted by MrK @ 3:27 PM