In the globe, which nation is the most violent? Depending on whatever sort of violence one is evaluating, the answer to that question might vary greatly.
The murder rate of any nation may be determined by analyzing data such as the number of murders, mass shootings, and stabbing fatalities, among other things. Another option is to compare the number of terrorist attacks or violent crimes committed in each nation.
Rape data for each nation might also be used to identify the most unsafe places for women to live. A list of nations presently engaged in conflict with drug traffickers, insurgents, or each other may also be useful.
Using each of these parameters will provide a different list of nations deemed to be the most violent. When enough data is examined, it becomes clear that certain nations have a higher level of continuing violence than others.
Every year, the Institute for Economics and Peace publishes its Global Peace Index, which tracks progress toward peace and tracks progress toward the exact opposite of peace: violent conflict.
Ongoing domestic and international conflict (six indicators), societal safety and security (ten indicators), and militarization (seven indicators) comprise the 23 categories in this study, which are then classified into three domains: (7 indicators).
These statistics cover many different subjects, from military conflicts and political instability to murder rates and violent crime.
According to the World Peace Index, only thirteen nations scored 2.9 or higher, which indicates that they are the least peaceful/most violent countries on Earth. Iceland, the most tranquil nation in the world in 2021, had an overall rating of 1.1. (low scores are better).
The national cost of violence
The most evident consequence of violence is the possibility of harm or death being inflicted on individuals. There are numerous more ways in which violence may harm a nation and its people that are less evident or straightforward.
Persistent violence has the potential to have far-reaching effects on the economy and infrastructure, including decreased tourism revenue, an unproductive industrial sector, lower wages, increased poverty, and a lack of access to basic public services such as access to safe drinking water, basic education, and basic medical treatment.
Even if the current trend continues, the nation will eventually become one of the world’s worst places to live (or, for foreigners, the worst counties to visit). Consequently, people will experience a significant drop in their overall quality of life.
The following are the world’s top 13 most violent nations, according to the 2021 Global Peace Index:
- Afghanistan – 3.631 (higher scores indicate less peace)
- Yemen – 3.407
- Syria – 3.371
- South Sudan – 3.363
- Iraq – 3.257
- Somalia – 3.211
- Congo (Dem. Rep of) – 3.196
- Libya – 3.166
- Central African Republic – 3.131
- Russia – 2.993
- Sudan – 2.936
- Venezuela – 2.934
- North Korea – 2.923
Global Peace Index data shows that most of the world’s most violent nations are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
For the most part, violence occurs in these areas because of persistent poverty and other circumstances such as authoritarian or exploitative regimes; civil wars or armed insurrections; or conflicts between various races, ethnic groups, or religious groups.
Additional research on violence in each nation will be conducted.
Studies, measurements, and other methods that measure violence in more nations throughout the globe may help us better understand how different countries deal with violence. Many of these assessments come to similar, if not identical, findings to those of the Global Peace Index.
When it comes to political, medical, environmental, infrastructure, and security risks in a certain country or region, the risk management business Drum Cusac produced a report.
According to these statistics, Afghanistan, Burundi, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Congo, and Libya were the 10 most violent nations in the world. Burundi is the only one that doesn’t make it into the GPI’s top 13, but it’s still the 35th most violent country in the world.
As for 2021’s “Travel Risk Map,” it included information on political instability and small-time criminal activity to medical services.
To summarise, the highest-risk areas included Afghanistan (no particular order), Yemen (no particular order), Somalia (no particular order), Syria (no particular order), South Sudan, Central African Republic (no particular order), Libya, Mali (no particular order), and areas of Nigeria and Egypt near Gaza (no particular order).
Research on various types of violence might provide different findings in other research. The Igarape Institute, a Brazilian think tank, studies the number of killings in countries throughout the globe to identify the most violent.
Latin America has 17 of the world’s 20 nations with the highest murder rates, according to this study’s 2019 findings.
There are seven of these nations in the top 20 for murder deaths: Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Although Latin America and the Caribbean account for just 8% of the global population, they account for 33% of all murders.
According to a separate study by the World Economic Forum, the most hazardous countries in the world were countries such as Yemen and Pakistan, as well as El Salvador, Nigeria, and El Salvador.
Using statistics on crime and political instability, Insider Monkey has ranked the following nations as the most hazardous (in decreasing order): Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Central African Republic.
- World’s Peaceiest Countries (Global Peace Index 2021)
- Iceland – 1.100 (Lower scores are better)
- New Zealand – 1.253
- Denmark – 1.256
- Portugal – 1.267
- Slovenia – 1.315
- Austria – 1.317
- Switzerland – 1.323
- Ireland – 1.326
- Czech Republic – 1.329
- Canada – 1.330
On the other hand, Iceland, New Zealand, and Portugal were three of the world’s four most peaceful nations in 2021, making them the world’s safest countries. The crime rates of Qatar, the UAE, and Taiwan are among the lowest in the world.
Country | Peace Index 2021 | 2022 Population |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 3.6310 | 40754.3880 |
Yemen | 3.4070 | 31154.8670 |
Syria | 3.3710 | 19364.8090 |
South Sudan | 3.3630 | 11618.5110 |
Iraq | 3.2570 | 42164.9650 |
Somalia | 3.2110 | 16841.7950 |
DR Congo | 3.1960 | 95240.7920 |
Libya | 3.1660 | 7040.7450 |
Central African Republic | 3.1310 | 5016.6780 |
Russia | 2.9930 | 145805.9470 |
Sudan | 2.9360 | 45992.0200 |
Venezuela | 2.9340 | 29266.9910 |
North Korea | 2.9230 | 25990.6790 |
Pakistan | 2.8680 | 229488.9940 |
Turkey | 2.8430 | 85561.9760 |
Mali | 2.8130 | 21473.7640 |
Lebanon | 2.7970 | 6684.8490 |
Nigeria | 2.7120 | 216746.9340 |
Cameroon | 2.7000 | 27911.5480 |
Colombia | 2.6940 | 51512.7620 |
Israel | 2.6690 | 8922.8920 |
Ukraine | 2.6600 | 43192.1220 |
Iran | 2.6370 | 86022.8370 |
Mexico | 2.6200 | 131562.7720 |
Ethiopia | 2.6130 | 120812.6980 |
Palestine | 2.6100 | 5345.5410 |
Niger | 2.5890 | 26083.6600 |
Eritrea | 2.5550 | 3662.2440 |
India | 2.5530 | 1406631.7760 |
Burkina Faso | 2.5270 | 22102.8380 |
Zimbabwe | 2.4900 | 15331.4280 |
Chad | 2.4890 | 17413.5800 |
Myanmar | 2.4570 | 55227.1430 |
Nicaragua | 2.4450 | 6779.1000 |
Burundi | 2.4340 | 12624.8400 |
Brazil | 2.4300 | 215353.5930 |
Philippines | 2.4170 | 112508.9940 |
Egypt | 2.3970 | 106156.6920 |
Saudi Arabia | 2.3760 | 35844.9090 |
Honduras | 2.3710 | 10221.2470 |
South Africa | 2.3440 | 60756.1350 |
United States | 2.3370 | 334805.2690 |
Azerbaijan | 2.3340 | 10300.2050 |
Algeria | 2.3100 | 45350.1480 |
Republic of the Congo | 2.2910 | 5797.8050 |
Mauritania | 2.2900 | 4901.9810 |
Belarus | 2.2850 | 9432.8000 |
Kenya | 2.2540 | 56215.2210 |
Togo | 2.2390 | 8680.8370 |
Uganda | 2.2190 | 48432.8630 |
Thailand | 2.2050 | 70078.2030 |
Lesotho | 2.2020 | 2175.6990 |
Guatemala | 2.1950 | 18584.0390 |
El Salvador | 2.1840 | 6550.3890 |
Turkmenistan | 2.1540 | 6201.9430 |
Haiti | 2.1510 | 11680.2830 |
Papua New Guinea | 2.1490 | 9292.1690 |
Djibouti | 2.1460 | 1016.0970 |
Bolivia | 2.1400 | 11992.6560 |
Ivory Coast | 2.1230 | 27742.2980 |
Mozambique | 2.1230 | 33089.4610 |
Bahrain | 2.1210 | 1783.9830 |
Guyana | 2.1140 | 794.0450 |
China | 2.1140 | 1448471.4000 |
Guinea-Bissau | 2.1130 | 2063.3670 |
Tunisia | 2.1080 | 12046.6560 |
Tajikistan | 2.0950 | 9957.4640 |
Benin | 2.0930 | 12784.7260 |
Sri Lanka | 2.0830 | 21575.8420 |
Armenia | 2.0750 | 2971.9660 |
Gabon | 2.0740 | 2331.5330 |
Guinea | 2.0690 | 13865.6910 |
Bangladesh | 2.0680 | 167885.6890 |
Uzbekistan | 2.0620 | 34382.0840 |
Georgia | 2.0540 | 3968.7380 |
Ecuador | 2.0440 | 18113.3610 |
Cuba | 2.0420 | 11305.6520 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 2.0290 | 1406.5850 |
Rwanda | 2.0280 | 13600.4640 |
Dominican Republic | 2.0240 | 11056.3700 |
Angola | 2.0170 | 35027.3430 |
Morocco | 2.0150 | 37772.7560 |
Cambodia | 2.0080 | 17168.6390 |
Liberia | 1.9980 | 5305.1170 |
Kyrgyzstan | 1.9980 | 6728.2710 |
Paraguay | 1.9970 | 7305.8430 |
Jamaica | 1.9920 | 2985.0940 |
Oman | 1.9820 | 5323.9930 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.9700 | 3249.3170 |
Zambia | 1.9640 | 19470.2340 |
Madagascar | 1.9630 | 29178.0770 |
Eswatini | 1.9550 | 1184.8170 |
Argentina | 1.9450 | 46010.2340 |
Kazakhstan | 1.9360 | 19205.0430 |
Greece | 1.9320 | 10316.6370 |
Namibia | 1.9270 | 2633.8740 |
Panama | 1.9190 | 4446.9640 |
Jordan | 1.9160 | 10300.8690 |
Equatorial Guinea | 1.9150 | 1496.6620 |
Cyprus | 1.9120 | 1223.3870 |
Moldova | 1.9090 | 4013.1710 |
Malawi | 1.9090 | 20180.8390 |
Tanzania | 1.8920 | 63298.5500 |
South Korea | 1.8770 | 51329.8990 |
Timor-Leste | 1.8730 | 1369.4290 |
France | 1.8680 | 65584.5180 |
Senegal | 1.8640 | 17653.6710 |
Gambia | 1.8530 | 2558.4820 |
United Arab Emirates | 1.8480 | 10081.7850 |
Montenegro | 1.8470 | 627.9500 |
Vietnam | 1.8350 | 98953.5410 |
Chile | 1.8310 | 19250.1950 |
Albania | 1.8240 | 2866.3740 |
Uruguay | 1.8170 | 3496.0160 |
Sierra Leone | 1.8130 | 8306.4360 |
Laos | 1.8090 | 7481.0230 |
Serbia | 1.7970 | 8653.0160 |
Mongolia | 1.7830 | 3378.0780 |
Indonesia | 1.7830 | 279134.5050 |
Botswana | 1.7530 | 2441.1620 |
North Macedonia | 1.7440 | 2081.3040 |
Costa Rica | 1.7350 | 5182.3540 |
Ghana | 1.7150 | 32395.4500 |
Lithuania | 1.6890 | 2661.7080 |
Kuwait | 1.6880 | 4380.3260 |
Latvia | 1.6860 | 1848.8370 |
Taiwan | 1.6620 | 23888.5950 |
United Kingdom | 1.6580 | 68497.9070 |
Italy | 1.6520 | 60262.7700 |
Spain | 1.6210 | 46719.1420 |
Estonia | 1.6120 | 1321.9100 |
Qatar | 1.6050 | 2979.9150 |
Mauritius | 1.5920 | 1274.7270 |
Bulgaria | 1.5770 | 6844.5970 |
Slovakia | 1.5570 | 5460.1930 |
Romania | 1.5300 | 19031.3350 |
Poland | 1.5240 | 37739.7850 |
Malaysia | 1.5150 | 33181.0720 |
Bhutan | 1.5100 | 787.9410 |
Netherlands | 1.5060 | 17211.4470 |
Belgium | 1.4960 | 11668.2780 |
Hungary | 1.4940 | 9606.2590 |
Croatia | 1.4800 | 4059.2860 |
Germany | 1.4800 | 83883.5960 |
Australia | 1.4700 | 26068.7920 |
Sweden | 1.4600 | 10218.9710 |
Norway | 1.4380 | 5511.3700 |
Finland | 1.4020 | 5554.9600 |
Japan | 1.3730 | 125584.8380 |
Singapore | 1.3470 | 5943.5460 |
Canada | 1.3300 | 38388.4190 |
Czech Republic | 1.3290 | 10736.7840 |
Ireland | 1.3260 | 5020.1990 |
Switzerland | 1.3230 | 8773.6370 |
Austria | 1.3170 | 9066.7100 |
Slovenia | 1.3150 | 2078.0340 |
Portugal | 1.2670 | 10140.5700 |
Denmark | 1.2560 | 5834.9500 |
New Zealand | 1.2530 | 4898.2030 |
Iceland | 1.1000 | 345.3930 |
Also See: School Shootings by Country 2022