Iceland Tops 2026 Peace Index for 19th Year as Global Peace Declines for 12th
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jun 9
Iceland Tops 2026 Peace Index for 19th Year as Global Peace Declines for 12th
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jun 9
Summary
Iceland held the No. 1 spot in the 2026 Global Peace Index for a 19th straight year, with New Zealand second and Switzerland third among 163 ranked states and territories.
12 consecutive years of global deterioration framed the ranking: the report says internationalized intrastate conflicts have jumped more than 175% since 2010, and countries involved in at least one external conflict rose to 103 from 59 in 2008.
Japan made one of the biggest top-10 moves, climbing three places to 10th after a 25% improvement in its internal conflict measure; Slovenia rose to fourth and Finland to ninth.
The U.S. fell four places to 134th, with the index citing a 38.5% drop in its political instability indicator and political violence at the highest level since the 1970s.
The index measures peacefulness rather than traveler safety directly, using 23 indicators across conflict, security and militarization, and says stable institutions and low violence are slow-building advantages concentrated in the most peaceful countries.
With global powers fragmenting and military spending soaring, are we entering an era of permanent, interconnected conflict?
Will AI's insatiable energy demand create a new resource crisis, undermining the very progress it promises?
As AI makes battlefield decisions in seconds, is humanity losing its moral authority over war itself?
Global Peace Index 2026: Unprecedented Decline, Rising Conflict, and the Urgent Need for a New Global Security Strategy
Overview
The Global Peace Index 2026 reveals an unprecedented decline in global peacefulness, with heightened conflict and reduced tranquility worldwide. This troubling trend is driven by deep-rooted systemic issues, especially a major imbalance in how the world addresses conflict and peace. Despite some growth, investment in peacebuilding and peacekeeping remains extremely low compared to massive military spending—just 0.5% of total military expenditure in 2025. As a result, global strategies continue to focus on military solutions and violence containment, taking a reactive rather than preventive approach to instability. This underinvestment in peace is a key reason for the worsening global security situation.