Sri Lanka has been ranked 67th in this year’s Global Peace Index conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Sri Lanka with an overall score of 1.91 is only behind Bhutan in the South Asian region. Bhutan is ranked 16th most peaceful nation in the world.
According to the report, South Asia recorded the worst deterioration in peacefulness on the 2026 GPI, with the average overall score deteriorating by 2.3 per cent. The region is ranked seventh of the eight GPI regions.
Five of the seven countries in the South Asian region deteriorated, with only two recording improvements. The deterioration was driven overwhelmingly by the ongoing conflict domain, which recorded the largest change at 7.1 per cent, reflecting escalating internal conflicts and cross-border tensions across the subcontinent.
The Safety and Security domain was relatively stable, while the militarisation domain recorded a small average deterioration.
Bhutan which is ranked 16th globally on the 2026 GPI was ranked 69th globally in 2008. Bhutan recorded a marginal deterioration of 0.4 per cent over the past year.
Despite the slight deterioration, Bhutan continues to stand out as a regional outlier, with a score significantly more peaceful than the regional average.
Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country in South Asia and is ranked 157th globally on the 2026 GPI. Afghanistan recorded a marginal deterioration of 0.5 per cent, though this obscures several significant shifts across the GPI indicators.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka recorded the largest percentage improvement in the region on the 2026 GPI, with its overall score improving by 2.3 per cent. Sri Lanka’s improvement was driven by the militarisation domain, which improved by 6.4 per cent, with the UN peacekeeping funding indicator improving by 40.8 per cent. The Safety and Security domain also improved by 1.8 per cent, driven by a 25 per cent improvement in the political instability indicator.
The researchers point out that the world has become less peaceful for the 12th consecutive year. There are currently 61 active conflicts between states, the highest number since the end of the Second World War. 103 countries are currently involved in an external conflict, nearly twice as many as in 2008. Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, followed by New Zealand and Switzerland, according to the report that annually ranks the level of peace and security in 163 independent countries and territories. The index is based on 23 indicators, including security, conflict, and militarization.
