Countries with the least peace worldwide 2024

According to the Global Peace Index 2024, Yemen was the least peaceful country in the world with an index value of 3.45. The Middle Eastern country has been plagued by civil war for over a decade between Houthi rebels and the government, backed by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. All the countries with the lowest scores in the Global Peace Index are ridden by war and violence.

The Russia-Ukraine war

While most of the countries on the list of the least peaceful countries are found in the Global South, the Russia-Ukraine war, together with the war in Gaza, has probably received the highest attention, at least in Western countries. The full-scale war started in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Many Western countries responded by implementing sanctions on Russia. Russia and Ukraine are the 7th and 5th least peaceful countries in the world, respectively.

Conflicts around the world

Though one might get the impression that the number of conflicts worldwide is increasing, it actually declined somewhat since 2013. Today, most of the conflicts are defined as violent crises, whereas 16 of the 21 conflicts defined as wars are ongoing in Sub-Saharan Africa.