Qatar crowned ‘most peaceful’ country in region

The country’s low crime rates and high level of security have secured it a spot in the world’s top ten safest countries.

Qatar has yet again topped the most peaceful country index in the Arab region for the fourth time in a row, the newly-released Global Peace Index (GPI) 2022 revealed.

Out of 163 countries globally, the Gulf nation’s adequate level of militarisation, low domestic and international conflict, and high social safety and security have secured it the 23rd spot— six places higher compared to the previous year— with a high score of 1.530 overall.

Throughout the past four years, the country ranked 23, 29, 27, and 31, respectively.

Region’s most peaceful

Qatar was also ranked the first in the Arab world and ninth overall in the index in the Safest and Most Societal Peaceful Countries category, advancing six spots compared to 2021 and joining the world’s top ten safest nations ahead of New Zealand, Ireland Sweden, and Austria.

According to the report, Qatar is the only nation in the region to be among the top 25 most peaceful nations in the world while also maintaining its position as the region’s most peaceful nation for the past 15 consecutive years.

This, the report adds, confirms its high security and safety levels, political stability, low crime rate and ‘freedom’ from terrorist activities and threats.

Out of the 23 GPI indicators, Qatar deteriorated in only three, including refugees and IDPs, criminal perceptions, and weapons exports.

In addition, although the nation’s perception of crime has dropped, overall crime rates remain relatively low. In the previous year, twelve indicators were unchanged while eight showed improvement.

The political instability measure showed the greatest improvement, increasing by 28.6 percent, the second-best increase of any country worldwide.

Global results

The average level of world peace declined by 0.3 percent in 2021, per the 16th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), the most widely used indicator of peace.

This marks the eleventh decline in peace in the past fourteen years, showing that countries deteriorate far more quickly than they improve. In total, 90 countries have improved, while a total of 71 countries declined.

Iceland remains the most peaceful country since 2008.