Jordan climbs 3 spots to 98th on Global Peace Index

AMMAN — Jordan has climbed three spots in the 2020 Global Peace Index (GPI) ranking as the 98th most peaceful country in the world.

The report, which is published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), placed Jordan in fifth place in the Arab region.

Economist Reem Badran said that “the report is very good because it shows that Jordan is doing better than before and is considered a reference for major international organisations such as the World Bank, the UN and the International Monetary Fund”.

In terms of the economic cost of violence, Badran told The Jordan Times: “We are number 95th in the world, which is good since it constitutes 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in terms of the eco-cost of violence”.

In terms of social safety and security domains, she said that Jordan’s rate is 2.308, especially “if we compare it with Italy’s rate, 2.079, and the US, 2.309.

Meanwhile, Director of the Phenix Centre for Economic Studies Ahmad Awad said that “it is true that Jordan improved by three steps in the field of peace out of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index 2020, but it still ranks at a medium level and is still in the yellow area and we hope that it will be classified next year within the green area”.

“This classification plays an important role in strengthening the national economy, and in attracting investment and tourism, which we hope will return to its pre-COVID-19 era”, Awad told The Jordan Times.

However, Awad said it is “regrettable” that the region of the Middle East and North Africa ranks very low and in the last ranking of regions in the world, and this has a negative effect on Jordan's attractiveness for investment and tourism.

Also commenting on the report was Economist Wajdi Makhamreh, who said the ranking is really “good news for Jordan given the turmoil that is taking place around the region and the local challenges including the pandemic crisis”. 

“This also reflects that Jordan is adopting various procedures to ensure continued stability and peace in terms of creating jobs, attracting investments and presenting fair laws,” Makhamreh told The Jordan Times.

Universally, the report indicated that the level of global peacefulness deteriorated, with the average country score falling by 0.34 per cent.

This is the ninth deterioration in peacefulness in the last 12 years, with 81 countries improving, and 80 recording deteriorations over the past year, according to the report.

The report indicated that Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008 and was joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark.

Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, although it recorded a slight deterioration in peacefulness, the report added.