Africa’s 10 least peaceful countries: South Sudan, Libya, Nigeria listed

SYDNEY, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Sudan is Africa’s least peaceful country according to the 2021 Global Peace Index, GPI, report released earlier this week.

South Sudan, the continent’s youngest nation, ranked 160th most peaceful country in the world according to a ranking of 163 nations.

Juba’s position means the country maintained a slot it occupied last year. Somalia, Democratic Repuplic of Congo, Libya and Central African Republic completed the worst five in that order.

The sixth to tenth slots was occupied by Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ethiopia – in descending order.

The GPI is an annual report produced by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

It measures the state of peace in countries whiles assessing the countries in three domains: the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

The 15th edition of the GPI also measured the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace.

This looked especially at the impact of the pandemic, and in particular, how its economic consequences will increase the risk of severe deteriorations in peace over the next few years.

Civil unrest rose 10 per cent globally, driven by the coronavirus pandemic, the GPI report added.

There were 14,871 violent demonstrations, protests and riots recorded globally in 2020.

The report said COVID-19 was a “multiplying force” in future political instability and civil unrest.

It added the level of this unrest going forward is likely to hinge on the speed and effectiveness of economic recovery. Countries with less debt and higher levels of positive peace were more likely to recover faster. — NNN-AGENCIES