Namibia crosses line in 64th place on Peace Index

IN the first study of its kind, Namibia has emerged with a ranking of 64 on the Global Peace Index.

The Index is a ranking of 121 countries – from Algeria to Zimbabwe – listed according to their peacefulness and has been compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It is comprised of a broad range of 24 indicators measuring both the internal and external peacefulness of nations.They include the levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure within a country.In Africa, Namibia ranks in eighth place.”Namibia received a top ranking for the low number of deaths from organised internal conflict,” the report said.The publication of the Global Peace Index came just a week before the leaders of the world’s richest countries gather for the G8 summit in Germany.The Index has won the backing of an influential and distinguished group of supporters including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Nobel Laureate the Dalai Lama, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, former US President Jimmy Carter and former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, Professor Joseph Stiglitz.They all called for an increased focus on peace in the world.Ghana is ranked as the most peaceful country in Africa, followed by Madagascar, Botswana and Mozambique.At the other end of the spectrum, Zimbabwe, Angola, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sudan are the least peaceful.The global index is topped by Norway, but the rankings show that even among the G8 countries there are significant differences in the peacefulness of nations.Japan ranks the highest at five; Canada (8) also falls in the top 10; and Germany ranks just outside (12).Italy (33), France (34) and the UK (49) rank in the top half of the table.However, the USA is listed at 96 and Russia is in the bottom five (118) – only two points above Africa’s lowest-ranked country, Sudan.Steve Killelea, an Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist, commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit to develop a methodology for measuring peace in a consistent way across the world, and collecting the data required to calculate the Index.Killelea (57) is the Chairman and Founder of Integrated Research and founded the charity The Charitable Foundation in 2000.The main findings of the Global Peace Index are that small, stable countries that form part of regional blocs, such as the European Union, are most likely to get a higher ranking.The main determinants of internal peace were income, extent of schooling and the level of regional integration, while there was no single common factor which made countries score poorly for external peace.”I believe there is a link between the peacefulness and the wealth of nations and therefore business has a key role to play in peace,” said Killelea.It is comprised of a broad range of 24 indicators measuring both the internal and external peacefulness of nations.They include the levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure within a country.In Africa, Namibia ranks in eighth place.”Namibia received a top ranking for the low number of deaths from organised internal conflict,” the report said.The publication of the Global Peace Index came just a week before the leaders of the world’s richest countries gather for the G8 summit in Germany.The Index has won the backing of an influential and distinguished group of supporters including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Nobel Laureate the Dalai Lama, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, former US President Jimmy Carter and former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, Professor Joseph Stiglitz.They all called for an increased focus on peace in the world.Ghana is ranked as the most peaceful country in Africa, followed by Madagascar, Botswana and Mozambique.At the other end of the spectrum, Zimbabwe, Angola, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sudan are the least peaceful.The global index is topped by Norway, but the rankings show that even among the G8 countries there are significant differences in the peacefulness of nations.Japan ranks the highest at five; Canada (8) also falls in the top 10; and Germany ranks just outside (12).Italy (33), France (34) and the UK (49) rank in the top half of the table.However, the USA is listed at 96 and Russia is in the bottom five (118) – only two points above Africa’s lowest-ranked country, Sudan.Steve Killelea, an Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist, commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit to develop a methodology for measuring peace in a consistent way across the world, and collecting the data required to calculate the Index.Killelea (57) is the Chairman and Founder of Integrated Research and founded the charity The Charitable Foundation in 2000.The main findings of the Global Peace Index are that small, stable countries that form part of regional blocs, such as the European Union, are most likely to get a higher ranking.The main determinants of internal peace were income, extent of schooling and the level of regional integration, while there was no single common factor which made countries score poorly for external peace.”I believe there is a link between the peacefulness and the wealth of nations and therefore business has a key role to play in peace,” said Killelea.