Seeking peace? Try world's "most peaceful" nation, Iceland
Among BRIC nations, China ranked the highest at 67th, followed by Brazil (90th), India (107th) and Russia (131st)
Seeking peace on earth- Try Iceland, the world's most peaceful nation, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2008 compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Computers to match human intellect by 2029, says inventorAccording to the index, released Tuesday, Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation on earth, followed by Denmark and Norway.
"It is clear that small, stable and democratic countries are the most peaceful," the report said.
According to the report, Iceland's ranking reflects its political stability and its good relations with its neighbors. Iceland has no standing army and proportionally, has among the lowest percentage of its citizens incarcerated and has actively participated in UN Peacekeeping Missions.
"We are very pleased that the index confirms the core values of a small, democratic society...which has never had a military and has effectively practiced peace for hundreds of years," said Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Foreign Minister, Iceland.
"We can feel that other states also find this of importance and it is in fact a driving force in our first-time candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council," she said.
Among all the 140 countries surveyed, languishing at the bottom of the index is, unsurprisingly, Iraq, followed closely by Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Israel and Chad.
The US and the UK have fared poorly too - while the US was ranked 97th (slipping from 96th last year) out of 140 countries, Britain was placed at 49th in the Global Peace Index. Possibly because of their military role in Afghanistan and Iraq, combined with their potential for terrorist attacks.
The reputation of the US, in particular, has been dented in recent times by the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the inhuman treatment of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
"Often times, you have to do difficult things and a lot of times, people don't agree with them. They don't like them," said US State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack.
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