According to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI), Rwanda rose four positions from the past year, ranking 81st out of 163 countries studied worldwide, with an overall score of 2.049.
The rise also makes Rwanda the fourteenth most peaceful country in Africa, from the 17th position in the previous report.
GPI is a peace metric produced by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), a global think tank dedicated to analyzing peace and quantifying its economic benefits.
The index defines peace as the harmony achieved by the absence of violence or fear of violence.
It uses qualitative and quantitative indicators grouped into three key domains: ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarisation.
The 2020 GPI released Wednesday, June 10th revealed that, of the three domains, Rwanda performed best in militarization with a score of 1.6, ranking 34th globally.
This domain includes various indicators such as military expenditure, weapon imports and armed forces rate among others.
According to the report, the economic cost of peace in Rwanda was $1.4 billion or 5 percent of its GDP.
Regionally, Rwanda is the second most peaceful country after Tanzania which has maintained the top position since 2008.
Uganda, Kenya and Burundi follow in that order.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Sudan came in the nine least peaceful countries in the world.
Mauritius is the most peaceful country on the continent and 23rd globally, followed by Botswana, Ghana and Zambia.
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a slight decline in the index due to post-election disputes and demand for political change, says the report.
Also, the sub-region saw an 800 percent increase in civil unrest, from 32 riots and protests in 2011 to 292 in 2018.
Worldwide, Iceland leads the global ranking, a position that it has held since 2008.
It is joined at the top by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark. Afghanistan remains as the least peaceful country, a position it has held for two years, followed by Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.
The economic impact of violence in 2019 fell to $14.5 trillion, equivalent of 10.6 per cent of the world's GDP.
Impact of Covid-19
The 2020 GPI shows that the world is now less peaceful than it was in 2008. Global peacefulness has been dropping over the last decade.
Civil unrest has doubled since 2011, writing a sustained rise which is set to worsen with the economic impact of COVID-19 take hold.
IEP says the economic downturn as a result of the pandemic pause a significant threat to peace. Many African countries are expected to face famine conditions, creating further stress in fragile populations.
However, the report notes that countries able to maintain peace have higher resilience to absorb, adapt and recover from shocks, such as COVID-19 and the ensuing recession.