kerkko.fi

New Zealand is the most peaceful nation on Earth, according to the 2009 Global Peace Index released Tuesday by an Australian-based research group that counts former President Jimmy Carter, Ted Turner and the Dalai Lama among its endorsers.

After New Zealand, next on the list are Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Austria, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland and Slovenia. In the bottom ten are Zimbabwe, Russia, Pakistan, Chad, Congo, Sudan, Israel, Somalia, Afghanistan and, in last place, Iraq.

The US is 83rd on the list, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace that rated the relative tranquility of 144 nations according to 23 indicators, including gun sales, the number of homicides, the size of the military, terrorism, and the number of people in jail.

Germany is at 16 on the list, Australia at 19, Spain (28), South Korea (33), Britain (35) and Italy (36). Libya, Nicaragua, Jordan, Cuba, China, Peru, and Ukraine all are rated more peaceful than the US. Rwanda is rated 86, Syria 92, Iran 99, and Mexico 108.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/03/new-zealand-rated-most-peaceful-us-83rd/