Qatar ranked as the most peaceful while war-ravaged Yemen was the least in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2022, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI) released Wednesday.
Israel's peacefulness score dropped the most from 2021 to 2022, falling eight places to 143rd globally. The report cited Israel’s worsening ties with its neighbors — particularly the Palestinians — and political instability inside the country as the main drivers for the decline.
The index placed Turkey as the least peaceful country in Europe ranking, and tied with Iran as the 147th most peaceful country globally.
According to the Australia-based institute’s Annual Peace Index, which ranks 163 countries and territories and covers 99.7% of the global population, the Middle East and North Africa region recorded the second biggest improvement in peacefulness, but remained at the bottom of the regional peace index. The rankings are based on 14 internal and 9 external criteria.
