MUSCAT – The Sultanate has been ranked fourth among the MENA countries and 69th in the world on the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019.

According to a report published by the Australia-based Institute of Economics and Peace, Oman earned 1.953 points this year.

Peace in the worlds least peaceful region (MENA) improved marginally last year, based on improvements in 11 countries, the report said

The regional average improved in all three GPI domains in 2019, with reductions in population displacement, political terror, terrorism, deaths from internal and external armed conflicts, military spending, and armed services personnel. Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. It is joined at the top by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark.

In the 2019 GPI, 86 countries improved while 76 countries deteriorated, with the global average GPI score improving by -0.09 per cent.

This is the 13th edition of the GPI, which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

The 2019 GPI also finds that the world became more peaceful for the first time in five years,

with the average level of country peacefulness improving slightly by 0.09 per cent.

Bhutan has recorded the best improvement and is now the 15th most peaceful nation in the world.

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