Ukraine 71st among 158 countries in global peace ranking in 2012, Russia 153rd

Kyiv, March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine took 71st place among 158 countries in 2012 in the global peace ranking, which was presented in the yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI Yearbook 2012 was presented by the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies (UCEPS) named after Razumkov at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) has been compiled annually since 2007 by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) under the leadership of an international expert group and with the assistance of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), on the basis of 23 criteria in three groups: long-term domestic and international conflicts, public safety and social protection, and militarization. Each figure has its coefficient, which is calculated on a five-point system.

The top ten includes small and stable democratic countries: Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Qatar became the leader of peace among the Middle East countries (and non-democratic countries) - 12th place. Bhutan was included in the top twenty for the first time - thanks to easing tensions around Nepalese refugees.

Norway lost its place in the top ten and moved from 9th (in 2011) to 18th place in connection with terrorist attacks in July 2011 and the deterioration in militarization.

War-torn Somalia remains the least peaceful country in the GPI ranking for the second consecutive year - 158th place. Afghanistan is 157th, Sudan 156th, Iraq 155th, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 154th, and Russia 153rd.

North Korea is 152nd, Israel 150th, Pakistan 149th, whereas Syria and Libya share 147th spot.

India is 142nd, Georgia 141st, Azerbaijan 132nd, Iran 128th, Thailand 126th, Egypt 111th, Belarus 109th, China 89th, and the United States 88th.

The Razumkov Center has publishes SIPRI Yearbook in Ukrainian since 2002. SIPRI Yearbook is published with the support of the Swiss government.