Definition: The Global Peace Index (GPI) is a composite measure of 23 different quantitative and qualitative measures intended to give an overall, relative measure of peacefulness. The measures are broadly categorized into (a) societal safety and security (internal peace), such as violent crime, political, stability respect of human rights, displaced persons; and (b) militarization (external peace). The 2010 GPI ranks 149 countries using data from 2008 and 2009.
Trends: Western Europe (and Scandinavia in particular) is the most peaceful region; followed by North America and then central and eastern Europe. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region least at peace while nations in a chronic state of war or internal conflict – such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan – are, unsurprisingly, the lowest ranked. Although the GPI has only been in existence for four years, it suggests that over this period the world has become slightly less peaceful. Over a longer time-scale the overall level of conflict has declined since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s but there are predictions that climate change, population growth, resource scarcity, ideological movements, and shifts in global power will result in an increase in conflicts in the coming decades.
Significance for infectious diseases:
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