Portugal is the seventh most peaceful country in the world, but the situation has been deteriorating for three years now.

According to the 2023 Global Peace Index, Portugal is the seventh most peaceful country in the world, but it has fallen for the third year in a row and is in its worst position since 2015.

In a year in which the annual report of the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace indicates an average deterioration in global peace of 0.42%, Portugal is no exception and also worsens its performance.

On a scale from 01 (very peaceful) to 05 (very little peaceful), Portugal climbs from 1301 to 1333 points in a year, dropping from sixth to seventh in the index led by Iceland since 2008.

Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria and Singapore, which moved up three places this year to overtake Portugal, remain at the top of the index.

At the opposite pole are Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Global Peace Index, currently in its 17th edition, is an annual analysis of the world’s trends, economic value and ways of developing peaceful societies using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators in three areas: the level of security and social protection, the measurement of ongoing internal and international conflict; and the degree of militarization.

Portugal excels in this latest domain, in which it has risen from eighth to fourth place behind Iceland, Malaysia and Hungary.

The area of ​​militarization has actually improved globally, and since 2008 all regions have registered a decline.

The Global Peace Index, which covers 99.7% of the world’s population, recorded the average deterioration in world peace this year, with 84 countries improving and 79 worsening in 2022.

According to the report, over the past 15 years, the world has become less peaceful, and the assessments of countries have fallen by an average of 5%.