Humanity has always known conflict and unrest, but 2024 has been a particularly dark time. Russia's invasion of Ukraine rages on, while October marked a year since the beginning of Israel's brutal war in Gaza — and now, with Lebanon and Iran embroiled in the conflict, the Middle East appears to be on the knife edge of all-out war.
Peace might be an abstract concept, but it can be measured. According to the Global Peace Index (GPI) — which analyzes several indicators across societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict and militarization — the world's average level of peacefulness fell by 0.56 percent in 2024. It's the fifth consecutive year that global peacefulness has deteriorated, with 97 countries experiencing a decline.
Using data from the GPI, Visual Capitalist mapped the most and least peaceful countries in the world this year.
The least peaceful countries overall are Yemen and Sudan, which are both facing humanitarian crises against the backdrop of civil war. In fact, the Middle East and North Africa region, to which both countries belong, remains the least peaceful region of anywhere in the world.
Canada and the US's declines in peacefulness, driven by a rise in violent crime and perceptions of criminality, saw North America experience the largest regional decrease in peacefulness in 2024.
Seven of the 10 most peaceful countries belong to Europe, which continues to be the most peaceful region worldwide — though the continent did record its biggest year-on-year deterioration in the militarization domain since 2008, when the GPI began.
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