Singapore eighth most peaceful country in the world, top in Asia

Singapore has been ranked the eighth most peaceful country, and the most peaceful in Asia, according to the Global Peace Index 2026 published on June 9.

The report, which is being published every year since 2007, scored the Republic 1.435 on the index, which is made up of 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators each weighted on a scale of one to five. The lower the score, the more peaceful the country is.

As such, Singapore upheld the spot as the most peaceful country in Asia, followed by Japan (10) and Malaysia (12).

Topping the list for the 19th consecutive year is Iceland with a score of 1.161, followed by New Zealand with 1.343 and Switzerland with 1.363.

In contrast, Russia was listed as the least peaceful with a score of 3.367, followed by Sudan with 3.195 and Democratic Republic of the Congo with 3.189.

The Global Peace Index, which is calculated by Australian think tank Institute of Economics & Peace, examines the safety and stability across 163 countries and territories worldwide, covering 99.7 per cent of the world's population.

The index derives the results by measuring different factors, such as domestic and internal conflict, societal safety and security, and militarisation.

The report also highlighted that there has been a dip in peacefulness on average worldwide, deteriorating by 0.7 per cent over the past year.

This is the 12th consecutive year where peacefulness has deteriorated, the report said, adding that there are 56 ongoing conflicts in the world now, the most since World War II.

Top 10 most peaceful countries 

Top 10 least peaceful countries

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daoen.wong@asiaone.com