More than half of all countries have reduced the size of their military forces (as a proportion of population), and arsenals of nuclear weapons have been reduced. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported. The index detected the first rise in military spending for five years, but still found overall improvements in its militarization measurement category. Common Dreams brings you the news that matters. This spending has fueled America’s endless wars and the arming of foreign governments in brutal conflicts in the Middle East. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. Global Finance Magazine. Which topics are covered by the "Chart of the Day"? But we can't do it alone. Roy Bahat is head of Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital fund investing in artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions to reshape the workplace and global markets. It has seen more protests, riots and strikes than anywhere else – almost 1,600 between 2011 and 2018 – although around two-thirds of these were non-violent. The Statista "Chart of the Day", made available By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our updated Cookie Notice. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University where she graduated with highest honors. What prompted this remarkable jump? /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. For individual content and infographics in your Corporate Design, The 2020 edition of the Global Peace Index released by The Institute for Economics and Peace has found that global peacefulness has declined for the ninth time in the last 12 years. - Craig Brown, Co-founder. Not only have 94% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education—well above the average rate of 78% and the highest among the 34 industrialized member countries—but this small nation of 10.6 million can boast the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union at 2%, below what economists consider a "natural" level. Copyright © 2014 No news is good news when it comes to tranquil Iceland: it is the tenth year in a row that it retains the number one spot. The report uses seven indicators to measure the degree of militarization of a society, including military expenditure as a percentage of GDP and the volume of arms exports and imports per 100,000 people. By contrast, in the 10 most peaceful countries the proportion drops to under 4%. The pandemic could trigger a wave of future unrest. Every day of the week, we publish the most important breaking news & views for the progressive community. Since the first GPI was published, global peacefulness has fallen by 2.5%. Our culturally similar neighbor to the north, Canada, is ranked the 6th most peaceful country in the world. The United States’ weakness in the “well-functioning government” and “high levels of human capital” pillars explain why such a small proportion of the population was tested during the initial weeks of the outbreak. The World Economic Forum COVID Action Platform, SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Peace and security at home cannot be achieved merely by projecting military power abroad—and in fact, the U.S. insistence on global military domination has actively undermined both domestic and international peace. Such developments could increase the likelihood of violence and conflict, the GPI warns. As a young member of the EU and outside of NATO, Austria prided itself into trying to get along with rival political blocs and embracing new forms of cooperation with its neighbors. Only North Korea, Russia, and Israel are higher on the GPI’s “militarization” ranking. The past 10 years have witnessed an increase in civil unrest, the index found. Download the datas. This includes the $3.3 billion in military financing to Israel as it continues to launch attacks on the Gaza Strip and eagerly plans its annexation of the West Bank, and the over $100 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia as it leads coalition airstrikes in Yemen which have led to catastrophic civilian death tolls.