Top 10 Most Peaceful Countries of the World in 2013

What are the most peaceful countries in the world? Maybe this is the question every peace loving person has. Everyone loves to be in the safest and the most peaceful countries in the world, no doubt. However, restless wars are going on almost everywhere in this world, some countries are so able to maintain the peace index for their people. Global Peace Index is the measure through which the peacefulness of a nation is estimated.

Here's the list of top 10 most peaceful countries in the world according to the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2013.

10. Belgium (GPI: 1.339)

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According to the Global Peace Index 2013, Belgium is the 10th-most peaceful country in the world with GPI of 1.339. Belgium is free from civil unrest, terrorist activities are highly unlikely, homicide rate is very low and relatively low proportion of the population is in jail. Violent crime and violent demonstrations are very low but is the highest of Nordic nations. Belgium is an active participant of NATO missions and typically channels around 1% of its Gross Domestic Product to military purposes.

9. Sweden (GPI: 1.319)

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Sweden performs impressively fourth of the 162 countries in terms of internal peace. There's no civil unrest. Talking about crime and homicide, it's extremely low crime and homicide rates in Sweden. Terrorist activities are highly unlikely. The jailed population is minimal. Sweden has long been able to maintain harmonious relations with its neighboring countries. Ever since the Baltic States joined the European Union, Sweden has been strengthening its economic integration in great deal. The political scene is quite stable. Sweden's heavy weapons are mainly associated with the Swedish Air Force.

8. Canada (GPI: 1.306)

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Actually, Canada became slightly more peaceful in 2012/13. In 2012, the military expenditure of Canada dipped to 1% of GDP. The army-budget has reportedly been cut by 22% since 2010. Now, Canada is able to improve relations with US too. There are very low crime and homicide rates, and violent demonstrations are almost rare. With its GPI of 1.306, Canada became the eighth-most peaceful country in the world.

7. Finland (GPI: 1.297)

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Finland remained essentially peaceful in 2013. Its overall GPI tally was unchanged but it slipped to the 7^th place. The majority of Finland's militarization measures are accorded low scores in a broad international comparison. Finland has the lowest number of internal security officers and police per capita (about 152 per 100,000 populations). Finnish society is quite safe and secure as there is no civil unrest and crime rates are very low. Terrorist activities are highly unlikely. There's very low jailed population.

6. Japan (GPI: 1.293)

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Japan's peacefulness improved from last year. Japan ranked second position in the world after Iceland, in terms of internal peace. The country remained free from civil unrest in 2012. Violent crime and homicides are very rare and terrorist activities highly unlikely.

5. Switzerland (GPI: 1.272)

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With its GPI of 1.272, Switzerland is the fifth most peaceful country in the world in 2013. Military expenditure was 0.8% of GDP in 2012. Nuclear and heavy weapons capabilities are adjusted to be moderate. Switzerland enjoys very low levels of violent crime and homicides. Political terror is very low. Current political scene is stable and violent demonstrations remained highly unlikely in 2012 and 2013.

4. Austria (GPI: 1.250)

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Austria became more peaceful in 2012/13 moving up two places in the index. There's very low rate of crime and homicide. Military expenditure is just 0.8% of GDP. The political scene is broadly stable, with almost no violent demonstrations.

3. New Zealand (GPI: 1.237)

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According to GPI 2013, New Zealand is the third-most peaceful country in the world. New Zealand uses 1.4% of overall GDP in military expenditure. The majority of safety and security measures of GPI suggest that New Zealand society is broadly harmonious. The political scene of New Zealand remained stable, criminal and homicide acts are very rare and violent demonstrations are highly unlikely.

2. Denmark (GPI: 1.207)

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Denmark is the second-most peaceful country in the world in 2012/13 and it ranks the highest in the world for internal peace by virtue of having of even lower number of police and internal security officers per capita. Violent demonstrations are highly unlikely and very few citizens are in jail. Crime and homicide rates are extremely low. Denmark has long been maintaining harmonious relations with its neighboring countries Sweden, Germany and Norway.  

1. Iceland (GPI: 1.162)

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 Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world in 2013. This island nation is free from conflict. The crime and homicide rates are minimal. The jailed population is considerably lower than elsewhere in the world. Iceland has no standing army. And violent demonstrations are extremely unlikely in Iceland.