The world has become less peaceful over the last year, with a sharp rise in the number of homicides and intensifying conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, dpa quoted the Global Peace Index as releasing Tuesday. The annual index measuring peace and security was compiled for the seventh time this year, showing an overall deterioration as 110 out of the 162 nations surveyed have become less peaceful. The study, which quantifies peace in terms of safety, the extent of domestic and international conflicts and militarization, found that the main contributing factors to the current trend were a rise in the number of homicides, higher military expenditures and growing political instability. There were approximately 524,000 homicides last year, about 40,000 more than 2011, which the study mainly attributes to increased violence in sub-Saharan Africa. The report found that the economic impact of violence worldwide is almost at 9.5 trillion dollars, 11 per cent of gross world product. The most peaceful countries in 2012 were Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand. Europe scored as the most peaceful continent, as it was home to 13 of the 20 least violent countries in the world. The United States ranked 99th on the list due to its high prison population, large military spending, involvement in several overseas conflicts, high homicide rate and easy, constitutionally protected access to small arms. On the bottom of the list were Syria, with its widening civil war, Somalia, still reeling from decades of internal conflict, and Afghanistan, which faces political instability and terrorism.
