All We are Saying, is Give Peace a Chance...

Global Peace Index Rankings - Countries most at peace ranked first;

1 - Norway
2 - New Zealand
3 - Denmark
4 - Ireland
5 - Japan
6 - Finland
7 - Sweden
8 - Canada
9 - Portugal
10 - Austria
11 - Belgium
12 - Germany
13 - Czech Republic
14 - Switzerland
15 - Slovenia
16 - Chile
17 - Slovakia
18 - Hungary
19 - Bhutan
20 - Netherlands
21 - Spain
22 - Oman
23 - Hong Kong
24 - Uruguay
25 - Australia
26 - Romania
27 - Poland
28 - Estonia
29 - Singapore
30 - Qatar
31 - Costa Rica
32 - South Korea
33 - Italy
34 - France
35 - Vietnam
36 - Taiwan
37 - Malaysia
38 - United Arab Emirates
39 - Tunisia
40 - Ghana
41 - Madagascar
42 - Botswana
43 - Lithuania
44 - Greece
45 - Panama
46 - Kuwait
47 - Latvia
48 - Morocco
49 - United Kingdom
50 - Mozambique
51 - Cyprus
52 - Argentina
53 - Zambia
54 - Bulgaria
55 - Paraguay
56 - Gabon
57 - Tanzania
58 - Libya
59 - Cuba
60 - China
61 - Kazakhstan
62 - Bahrain
63 - Jordan
64 - Namibia
65 - Senegal
66 - Nicaragua
67 - Croatia
68 - Malawi
69 - Bolivia
70 - Peru
71 - Equatorial Guinea
72 - Moldova
73 - Egypt
74 - Dominican Republic
75 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
76 - Cameroon
77 - Syria
78 - Indonesia
79 - Mexico
80 - Ukraine
81 - Jamaica
82 - Macedonia
83 - Brazil
84 - Serbia
85 - Cambodia
86 - Bangladesh
87 - Ecuador
88 - Papua New Guinea
89 - El Salvador
90 - Saudi Arabia
91 - Kenya
92 - Turkey
93 - Guatemala
94 - Trinidad and Tobago
95 - Yemen
96 - United States of America
97 - Iran
98 - Honduras
99 - South Africa
100 - Philippines
101 - Azerbaijan
102 - Venezuela
103 - Ethiopia
104 - Uganda
105 - Thailand
106 - Zimbabwe
107 - Algeria
108 - Myanmar
109 - India
110 - Uzbekistan
111 - Sri Lanka
112 - Angola
113 - Cote d'Ivoire
114 - Lebanon
115 - Pakistan
116 - Colombia
117 - Nigeria
118 - Russia
119 - Israel
120 - Sudan
121 - Iraq

The Economist Intelligence Unit was commissioned by a group of businessmen, academics and peace institutions to rank 121 nations according to their relative state of peace.

The index was comprised of 24 indicators, ranging from a nation's level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights.

"New Zealand's lofty position in the Global Peace Index (GPI) partly reflects its lack of internal and external conflicts and its very good relations with neighbouring countries, namely Australia and fellow member states of the Pacific Island Forum," the GPI reports says.

The report said New Zealand's diplomatic and economic links with Australia had been underpinned since 1983 by the Closer Economic Relations agreement.

It said the nation's political scene was stable and the index gave New Zealand very low scores on the likelihood of violent demonstrations and the number of homicides.

However, violent crime is higher than in Norway and the number of jailed population is considerably higher than the four Nordic nations surveyed."

The report noted New Zealand's military expenditure as a percentage of GDP was low and notably lower than Australia.

"New Zealand's ability to play a security role within the Pacific region was nevertheless demonstrated in July 2003, when it sent 35 policemen and 230 military personnel to the Solomon Islands as part of a 2225-strong Australian led peacekeeping force."

Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand's high ranking on the index recognised the nation's long-standing contribution to international peacekeeping.

"New Zealand is a significant contributor to both UN-led and regional peacekeeping missions.
"New Zealand has played its part in promoting peace and prosperity. We have deployed forces to restore stability in Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Bougainville, Afghanistan and other troubled places around the world."

She said the hosting of the Alliance of Civilisations High Level Symposium last week and the Waitangi Regional Interfaith Dialogue this week were examples of the positive role New Zealand was taking to encourage inter-religious and inter-cultural understanding and co-operation.

"Our firm commitment to international disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, in particular our strong stance on nuclear disarmament, are key elements of New Zealand policy.

"Our principled stance contributes to New Zealand's reputation as a world leader in peace and security" Miss Clark said.

- thanks to the folks over at the New Zealand Hearld, online (www.nzherald.co.nz).