Nigeria emerged 148 out of 163 countries in the 2025 Global Index, ranking behind war-ravaged Palestine, Iraq, and Pakistan.

The Institute of Economics and Peace, in its 19th edition of the Global Peace Index, said it ranked “163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population”.

Out of 163 countries, Nigeria ranked 148th among those with a “low” ranking in the 2025 Global Peace Index.

In the Sub-Saharan African region, Nigeria ranked 38th out of 44 countries, while Mauritius, Botswana, and Namibia ranked first, second, and third, respectively. The trio also ranked 26th, 43rd, and 50th, respectively, in the global sphere.

According to the 2025 Global Peace Index, half of the 43 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa recorded improvements in peacefulness; however, Nigeria falls among the countries that experienced deteriorating peace in the region.

“Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a deterioration in peacefulness, with the average score in the region deteriorating by 0.17 per cent over the past year. Half of the countries in this region
improved in overall peacefulness while the other half deteriorated,” the report stated.

South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan, three of the ten least peaceful countries in the world, are found in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

On the global stage, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand ranked first, second, and third, while Sudan, Ukraine, and Russia ranked 161st, 162nd, and 163rd in the Global Peace Index.

The 2025 Global Peace Index stated that the world “has become less peaceful” over the past 17 years, with the average country score deteriorating by 5.4 per cent since the index’s inception in 2008.

It added, “Of the 163 countries in the GPI, 94 recorded deteriorations, while 66 recorded improvements and one recorded no change. Seventeen of the 23 GPI indicators deteriorated between 2008 and 2023, while seven improved.”