Syria takes over from Afghanistan as world's least peaceful country - Global Peace Index Report

The Global Peace Index Report a report by the Institute for Economic and Peace has said Syria has overtaken Afghanistan as the world's least peaceful country.

The report released in New York, on Thursday, noted that the global violence impacted economies by $9.8trillion last year.

It noted that violence in Syria pushed the country to surpass Afghanistan as the world's least peaceful nation.

The report said the violence in Syria pushed the country to surpass Afghanistan as the world's least peaceful nation.

It stated that the economic impact of violence was twice the size of the combined gross domestic product of the 54 African countries, as the world spent $9.5tr to deal with violence in 2012.

The report stated that terrorism, conflicts including new outbreaks, and displacement of people caused worldwide peace to deteriorate slightly in 2013.

"This confirms a seven-year, gradual but significant downward slide, which overturns a 60-year trend of increasing global peacefulness dating back to the end of the Second World War," it said.

The index also noted that Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia came right behind.

It said Iceland tops the list of the most peaceful country, followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Finland, Canada and Japan.

It said Europe leads the world in peace, while South Asia remains at the bottom of the overall regional rankings.

It said the rising global violence caused the world's governments to spend over $9.8tr of global Gross Domestic Product, on containing and dealing with consequences of violence.

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