Ten safest and ten most dangerous countries in the world

LONDON: Iceland has been named the most peaceful country in the world for the tenth year running, while Syria remains the least peaceful, The Week reported.

The rankings are based on a report from the Institute for Economics and Peace, which takes into account statistical factors such as murder rates and military expenditure, as well as perceptions of criminality and terrorism levels.

The factors are combined into a single number listed in the Global Peace Index (GPI). The lower this is, the safer a country is regarded.The average level of peacefulness declined over the year, with the Middle East and North Africa the world’s least peaceful region. Europe is still the most peaceful region, but its score has fallen due to increased political instability, the impact of terrorism and perceptions of criminality.

In its seventh year of civil war, Syria remains at the bottom of the Index, followed by Afghanistan and South Sudan.Iceland, the safest country in the world, is followed by New Zealand and Austria.

The UK fell six places to 57th, while the US sits at 121.“The 2018 GPI reveals a world in which the tensions, conflicts, and crises that emerged in the past decade remain unresolved, resulting in this gradual, sustained fall in peacefulness,” says the Institute.