Ghana’s peacefulness has seen a significant drop. The country ranks 55th in the 2024 Global Peace Index (GPI), a 4-point decline from its 51st position in 2023. Even sharper is the fall from 40th in 2022.
In Sub-Saharan Africa however, Ghana now holds the 4th position. Previously Ghana was ranked the second most peaceful country in the region. Currently, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Botswana now rank ahead of Ghana in the peace index.
The 2024 GPI report shows a global decline in peace over the past 17 years. Political instability, rising conflict-related deaths, and violent demonstrations have contributed to this trend.
However, the report also notes a positive development—a stronger commitment to UN peacekeeping efforts, which recorded the most significant improvement among GPI indicators.
How Does the GPI Measure Peace?
The GPI assesses countries across three key domains:
- Societal Safety and Security
- Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict
- Militarization
These factors are evaluated using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators.
This year’s report introduces a new measure of global military capability, assessing military sophistication, technology, and battle readiness.
According to the report, global conditions that lead to major conflicts are at their highest since World War II, with 56 active conflicts worldwide—the most since the GPI’s inception in 2008.
The report highlights that conflicts are becoming more internationalized, with 92 countries engaged in conflicts beyond their borders, complicating peace negotiations.
Global Peace Trends
The 18th edition of the Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), ranks 163 countries based on their level of peacefulness, covering 99.7% of the world’s population.
According to the report, militarisation has deteriorated globally. This reverses a previously improving trend, with 108 countries experiencing a decline.
Globally, the average level of peacefulness deteriorated by 0.56% in 2024, marking the 12th deterioration in 16 years.
The number of countries that showed a drop in peace in a single year since the GPI’s inception was 97. Yemen is now the least peaceful nation, followed by Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Iceland has continued to be the world’s most peaceful nation since 2008.
In terms of regional trends, Europe continues to be the most peaceful region, home to eight of the top ten most peaceful countries.
However, North America experienced the largest decline in peacefulness, with significant drops in both Canada and the United States.
This year’s GPI also saw the most significant year-on-year declines in indicators such as military expenditure and deaths from external conflicts, contributing to the broader deterioration in global peace.
Africa Peace Trends
On the broader African continent, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains the least peaceful globally. Four of the ten least peaceful countries in the world are located in this region, with Sudan and Yemen ranking as the two least peaceful.
As Ghana heads toward its December 7 elections, the country’s declining peace score highlights the need for a peaceful electoral process. This is crucial for maintaining democratic stability, preventing localised conflicts, and addressing emerging threats.
Background
The Global Peace Index, now in its 18th edition, is compiled every year by Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). Last year, the report revealed that over the last 15 years, the world has become less peaceful with the average level of country peacefulness deteriorating by 0.42 percent.
This is also the ninth consecutive year that global peacefulness has deteriorated.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which collects the GPI, is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank dedicated to refocusing the world’s attention on peace as a positive, attainable, and tangible indicator of human well-being and progress.
