An Index for Everything- Global Peace Index

The main findings of the Global Peace Index are:

-Peace is correlated to indicators such as income, schooling and the level of regional integration
-Peaceful countries often shared high levels of transparency of government and low corruption
-Small, stable countries which are part of regional blocs are most likely to get a higher ranking

The index takes note of internal factors—crime rates, prison population, trust between citizens—and external ones, like relations with neighbours, arms sales, foreign troop deployments. Norway's top place reflects its calm domestic atmosphere and good relations with nearby states. In the case of Israel (119th), high military spending, a huge army and unresolved local conflicts are deemed to outweigh its low level of ordinary crime. Canada comes eighth; its American neighbour a dismal 96th, strangely just above Iran