India ranks 143 on global peace index topped by Iceland

India ranks a lowly 143 on a global peace index, lagging way behind the likes of Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with Iceland emerging as the most peaceful nation in the world.

According to the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace, Iceland, the thinly populated island in the midst of the North Atlantic has retained its place as the most peaceful country in the world. The institute released its Global Peace Index for 2015 recently, which ranks 162 nations around the globe based on factors like the level of violent crime, involvement in conflicts and the degree of militarisation.

The nations are given a score on that basis. The more the score, the less peaceful the country is. India is ranked at 143 on the index with a score of 2.504. "The number of casualties from internal conflict also rose in India where a Maoist insurgency stills runs rife. The downgrade in India's score is tempered, however, by an improvement in political stability.

The world's second most populous country witnessed an historic election in 2014 as the Bharatiya Janata Party secured India's first one-party majority since the mid-1980s," the report said. Six out of the top 10 most peaceful countries were European, with Denmark and Austria holding the second and third spots.

"Europe maintained its position as the most peaceful region in the world, supported by a lack of domestic and external conflicts," the report said. Pakistan fares badly ranked at 154 with its score deteriorating on the back of a worsening of its perceptions of criminality, as a result, the country remains second from the bottom in South Asia.

"The country's dire domestic security situation continues to be hampered by the presence of Islamist militant groups. Even though the number of deaths from internal conflict did not worsen significantly over the past twelve months, Pakistan suffered a handful of high-profile incidents -- most notably the separate attacks on Jinnah International Airport and an army-run school in Peshawar," the report said.

Afghanistan remains the most lowly ranked in South Asia at 160. Bhutan (18), Nepal (62), Bangladesh (84) and Sri Lanka (114) are all ranked above India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. US is also ranked at a lowly 94 scoring badly in terms of militarisation, homicides and fear of violence. China is ranked 124. Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State terror group has taken over large swathes of land are at the bottom of the table as the least peaceful countries. 

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