Czech Republic

1.341

Source: The Institute for Economics and Peace Get the data

By contrast, the small Nordic nation of Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world.

It has a GPI score of 1.148, the lowest in the world, due to its low level of militarisation and domestic and international conflict, and its high level of security and societal stability. When it comes to GPI scores, a lower number means a country is more peaceful, and a higher one indicates it is more violent.

Iceland is one of the few countries in the world (and the only Nato member) with no standing army. Instead, its military consists of the Icelandic Coast Guard, a pseudo-military force which consists of a small number of ships and aircraft which guard the island's waters and airspace.

It spends 0.13 per cent of its annual GDP on its military, the second lowest figure in the world. By comparison, the UK spends 2.49 per cent, and the USA spends 4.35 per cent, according to the CIA World Factbook.

The UK was ranked as the 39th most peaceful country - behind its European neighbours mostly due to its higher perception of criminality, threat of terrorism and military spending (Getty)

Iceland's very low levels of political instability, murder, weapons exports and problems with neighbouring countries also contribute to its first place ranking as the world's most peaceful countries.

Nordic countries, along with Alpine nations like Austria and Switzerland, are represented highly in the top 10 most peaceful countries - Denmark is just behind Iceland, in second place, and Finland is in sixth.

Sweden and Norway are in 13th and 17th place respectively, classed as less peaceful than their neighbours due to their slightly higher crime levels, and much higher levels of weapons exports - despite Sweden's neutrality and peaceful reputation, it is the world's 12th biggest exporter of weapons.

The UK comes in as the 39th most peaceful. Compared to other leading countries, perceptions of criminality and the threat of terrorism are higher in the UK. The fact it is a nuclear-armed statealso hurts its ranking amongst peaceful countries.

The least peaceful countries in the world

Less peaceful countries have a higher Global Peace Index score.

North Korea

3.645

Syria

3.444

Iraq

3.427

Afghanistan

3.383

South Sudan

3.332

Central African Republic

3.307

Somalia

3.295

Sudan

3.085

DR Congo

3.049

Pakistan

2.977

North Korea

Source: Institute for Economics and Peace Get the data

In comparison, countries in the Middle East and Africa make up most of the bottom 10 on the list. Afghanistan has been towards the bottom of the rankings for some time, due to the chaos of the War on Terror.

Central African countries are similarly war-torn - both Sudan andSouth Sudan, which split following a referendum in 2011, make it into the bottom 10, as do the Central African Republic, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all of which have experienced civil wars and unrest in recent years.

The secretive and totalitarian state of North Korea also makes it into the top 10 least peaceful countries, due to the high levels of political terror and militarisation that its citizens suffer from.

These recent figures comprise the ninth edition of the GPI rankings. While the figures remained mostly stable in the previous edition, this year substantial changes have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, where sectarian strife and civil wars have raged on.

Over the last eight editions of the index, the average country score has fallen by 2.4 per cent, indicating that the world has become less peaceful.

However, 76 countries on the list improved, mostly in Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean.

Worldwide, the Institute found that the cost of violence, in the way it affects GDP through military spending and violent crime, can be estimated at $14.3 trillion (£9.2 trillion), or 13.4 per cent of the world's GDP.

Through studying the prevalence and impact of peace and violence around the world, the Institute hopes to bring about positive changes to help peace spread worldwide.

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