Costa Rica safety is still one of the best in the region. Costa Rica is the third most peaceful country in Latin America, says the sixth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), released on June 12th. In the global ranking, Costa Rica obtained the 36th position among 158 countries.
The GPI is developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit and with the guidance of an international team of academics and peace experts. The Index is composed of 23 indicators, ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighboring countries and the level of respect for human rights.
The GPI brings a snapshot of relative peacefulness among nations while continuing to contribute to an understanding of what factors help create or sustain more peaceful societies.
The most peaceful country in Latin America this year is Chile (30), followed by Uruguay (33), which moved down to the second position in comparison with last year’s edition. Other Latin American countries that performed relatively well in the evaluation are Argentina (44), Panama (61) and Cuba (70). Meanwhile, among the least peaceful countries in Latin America are Guatemala (124), Honduras (129), Mexico (135) and Colombia (144).
According to the GPI, Iceland is the most peaceful country for the second successive year, while Somalia remains the world’s least peaceful nation for the second year running.
In general, the 2012 GPI found that the world has become slightly more peaceful over the last year, bucking a two year trend. All regions apart from the Middle East and North Africa improved on levels of peacefulness.
Improvements in the Political Terror Scale (1) and gains in several indicators of militarization (2) arising from austerity-driven defense cuts were the two leading factors making the world more peaceful in 2012, according to the report.
“What comes across dramatically in this year’s results and the six year trends is a shift in global priorities. Nations have become externally more peaceful as they compete through economic, rather than military means,” said Steve Killelea, founder and Executive Chairman of the IEP.
The GPI ranks independent countries by their ‘absence of violence’ using metrics that combine both internal and external factors. The GPI is intended to contribute significantly to the public debate on peace. The project’s ambition is to go beyond a crude measure of wars—and systematically explore the texture of peace.
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica
