Namibia plummets on peace index
ELLANIE SMIT
Namibia has dropped 18 spots on the Global Peace Index for 2019, making it one of the countries with the worst deteriorations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The index measures the peacefulness of 163 countries with a range of measures, including military spending, deaths from conflict and terrorism, as well as an estimated economic cost of violence.
Namibia was ranked 60th globally this year with an overall score of 1.89.
The country dropped 18 places from last year. Amongst sub-Saharan countries Namibia was ranked 11th.
Globally, the world is sad, stressed and worried, the report says.
It found that feelings of sadness, worry and stress have increased by a combined average of 8%.
The most significant increases were seen in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa had the greatest increase in stress, increasing by 18% from 2008 to 2018.
“The five worst deteriorations in the region occurred in Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Togo, Sierra Leone and Namibia,” the report said.
The index is released annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a Sydney-based think tank that analyses the economic costs of violence.
The survey is based on statistics from various United Nations organs, the Economist Intelligence Unit and numerous other international bodies.
It measures a wide range of weighted factors including violent crime, political instability, policing and external conflict. It boils these down into three major factors, namely militarisation, safety and security and domestic and international conflict. It then gives each country a score of one to five, with five being the most severe.
Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008, with scores of 1.0, 1.1, and 1.0 in each of the above factors respectively. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.
Namibia’s scores for the abovementioned three factors were 1.827, 2.49 and 1.2 respectively.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq make up the remaining five least peaceful countries.
With regard to sub-Saharan Africa, the most peaceful country in the region is Mauritius, joined by Botswana, Malawi, Ghana and Zambia on the top five list. South Sudan is the least peaceful country in the region.
Furthermore, the report's special section on climate and peace highlighted that about 400 million people live in countries at risk of climate disasters, such as droughts and torrential rain. It notes that "climate change can indirectly increase the likelihood of violent conflict through its impacts on resource availability, livelihood security and migration".
The report also stated that Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa are the two regions most vulnerable to climate-induced security risks, due to a high risk of exposure to natural hazards.
Namibia has dropped 18 spots on the Global Peace Index for 2019, making it one of the countries with the worst deteriorations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The index measures the peacefulness of 163 countries with a range of measures, including military spending, deaths from conflict and terrorism, as well as an estimated economic cost of violence.
Namibia was ranked 60th globally this year with an overall score of 1.89.
The country dropped 18 places from last year. Amongst sub-Saharan countries Namibia was ranked 11th.
Globally, the world is sad, stressed and worried, the report says.
It found that feelings of sadness, worry and stress have increased by a combined average of 8%.
The most significant increases were seen in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa had the greatest increase in stress, increasing by 18% from 2008 to 2018.
“The five worst deteriorations in the region occurred in Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Togo, Sierra Leone and Namibia,” the report said.
The index is released annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a Sydney-based think tank that analyses the economic costs of violence.
The survey is based on statistics from various United Nations organs, the Economist Intelligence Unit and numerous other international bodies.
It measures a wide range of weighted factors including violent crime, political instability, policing and external conflict. It boils these down into three major factors, namely militarisation, safety and security and domestic and international conflict. It then gives each country a score of one to five, with five being the most severe.
Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008, with scores of 1.0, 1.1, and 1.0 in each of the above factors respectively. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.
Namibia’s scores for the abovementioned three factors were 1.827, 2.49 and 1.2 respectively.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria, which is now the second least peaceful. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq make up the remaining five least peaceful countries.
With regard to sub-Saharan Africa, the most peaceful country in the region is Mauritius, joined by Botswana, Malawi, Ghana and Zambia on the top five list. South Sudan is the least peaceful country in the region.
Furthermore, the report's special section on climate and peace highlighted that about 400 million people live in countries at risk of climate disasters, such as droughts and torrential rain. It notes that "climate change can indirectly increase the likelihood of violent conflict through its impacts on resource availability, livelihood security and migration".
The report also stated that Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa are the two regions most vulnerable to climate-induced security risks, due to a high risk of exposure to natural hazards.
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