For the first time, Russia is the world’s least peaceful country – after finishing seventh last year. In that time, its overall peacefulness deteriorated by 6.5%, with deaths from internal conflict increasing due to the August 2024 Kursk offensive by Ukrainian troops.

The report predicts that "Russia and Ukraine will remain two of the least peaceful countries in the world for the foreseeable future." This comes amid the IEP’s warning that the gap between the most and least peaceful countries "continues to grow".

Now check out the world's happiest and unhappiest countries

Revealed: The world's safest and most dangerous countries