The Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world’s leading measure of national peacefulness. Now in its sixth year, it ranks 158 nations according to their ‘absence of violence’.

The GPI is developed by the Institute for Economics & Peace under the guidance of an international panel of independent experts with data collated and calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

It is composed of 23 indicators, ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the percentage of prison population.

The data is sourced from a wide range of respected sources, including the International Institute of Strategic Studies, The World Bank, various UN Agencies, peace institutes and the EIU. The index has been tested against a range of potential “drivers” or determinants of peace—including levels of democracy and transparency, education and national wellbeing.

The GPI is intended to contribute significantly to the public debate on peace. The project’s ambition is to go beyond a crude measure of wars—and systematically explore the texture of peace.

The Index is currently used by many international organisations, governments and NGOs including the World Bank, the OECD, and the United Nations.