Category Archives: Rankings

The Most and Least Peaceful Countries

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Vision for Humanity has compiled the Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2012. The GPI is a composite index that measures the peacefulness of countries around the world. It considers 23 weighted quantitative and qualitative indicators such as perceived criminality in society, access to weapons, imports of weapons, military expenditure, homicides, political instability, jailed population, weapons exports, violent crime, among others.

The lower the score, the more peaceful the nation. I that context, the most peaceful country is Iceland, followed by Denmark, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. On the other end of the spectrum, the least peaceful country is Somalia, followed by Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The interactive map can be found at: Vision of Humanity: 2012 Global Peace Index

For detailed information about the GPI and its methodology, visit: Institute for Economics and Peace: Global Peace Index 2012

 

Gun-Related Deaths vs. Gun Ownership in the U.S.

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According to data from The Violence and Policy Center, the death rate by firearms in the U.S. is 10.19 per 100,000 people. Data from Gallup puts gun ownership at 34% nationwide. States with higher percentage of gun ownership also show a high number of deaths by firearms. Louisiana ranks 1 in number of deaths by firearms at 18.03 per 100,000, and 13 in gun ownership at 45.6%. Wyoming ranks 2 in number of deaths by firearms at 17.64 per 100,000, and 2 in gun ownership at 62.8%. These states are followed by Montana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nevada, Tennessee and Alaska. In comparison, Massachusetts ranks 50 in number of deaths by firearms at 3.14 per 100,000 (lowest of all fifty states), and 48 in gun ownership at 12.8%. Hawaii fares well, ranking 49 in number of deaths by firearms, and 50 in gun ownership at 9.7% (the lowest of all fifty states).

See interactive map at: Aljazeera.com – Interactive: US, Yemen lead the world in guns

 

The Happiest Countries on Earth

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MIT’s Technology Review magazine created a map of the 40 happiest countries in the world, based on research data from Columbia University’s Earth Institute. According to the list, Denmark ranks as the happiest country, followed by Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada. At the bottom of this list are Jamaica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and the Czech Republic. Countries not on this list ranked even lower.

For a detailed information concerning the methodology used and sources, see: The Earth Institute – Columbia University: First World Happiness Report Launched at the United Nations

 

Migrant Remittances Continue to Rise

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Migrant remittances to developing countries are expected to reach $406 billion in 2012, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year, and $534 billion in 2015. These officially recorded remittances have kept increasing despite high remittance costs and the financial crisis. This source of income for developing economies constitutes more than three times the size of Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The highest recipients of migrant remittances among developing economies for 2012 are India, China, the Philippines and Mexico. As a percentage of GDP, the highest recipients in 2011 were Tajikistan, Liberia, the Kyrgyz Republic and Lesotho.

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The World’s Least and Most Dynamic Countries

Global Dynamism Index

Grant Thornton International and the Economist Intelligence Unit have just released a Global Dynamism Index, which ranks 50 economies on 22 indicators of dynamism. Countries which have a positive reading on these indicators have recovered faster since the 2008 global recession, and are also on a path to higher future growth. Singapore, Finland, and Sweden are at the top of the list of the world’s most dynamic countries, whereas Nigeria, Greece, and Venezuela are at the bottom.

Freedom of the Press Around the World in 2012

2012 has seen positive and negative changes in freedom of the press around the world. Reporters Without Borders, the largest organization that advocates freedom of the press worldwide, compiles a Press Freedom Index where countries ranking at the top score high in press freedom, and countries at the bottom constitute the most repressive in terms of freedom of information and violence against journalists.

Some countries ranking at the top include Finland, Norway and Estonia. Countries at the bottom include Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Countries showing improvements worth noting include Tunisia, South Sudan and Niger. In Latin America, Brazil showed the biggest decline.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties Around the World for 2012

2011 and 2012 have been years full of changes in the level of political rights and civil liberties around the world, primarily due to the Arab uprisings. Freedom House, an organization that supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights around the world, has identified which countries have improved and which countries have declined in their level of freedom. The Freedom House Index (FHI) designates countries and territories included in the index as “free”, “partly free”, and “not free”.

As shown in the map above, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Burma are among the countries that have improved the most, while Ecuador, Sudan and Yemen are among the worst performers.