The Institute for Economics and Peace conducts an annual ranking of which countries in the world are the safest, called the Global Peace Index. The 2020 report shows that the world is less peaceful today than it was a year ago.
However, Portugal kept its place in the ranking, and it remains the third safest country in the world.
Forbes journalist Alex Ledsom, in her November 2020 article, wrote “the report concludes that “the conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, only to be replaced with a new wave of tension and uncertainty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
But while the factors that affect world peace clearly change over time, one fact has stayed constant; the same country has taken the top spot for the past 12 years–Iceland. The U.S. came 121 on the list, the same as last year.
163 countries were ranked with a score (1=most peaceful, 5=least peaceful) with the top ten remaining largely unchanged from 2019:
3. Portugal
The Global Peace Index gave Lisbon a score of 1,247 owing to its safety.
2. New Zealand
With minimal internal conflict or violence, New Zealand scored 1.198 and ranked second.
1. Iceland
With meagre homicide rates, few people in jail (per capita) and few terrorist events, Iceland scored 1.078.