Yearly report from the Institute for Economics and Peace reveals drastic differences in safety between European neighbors.
On June 9, 2026, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), a London-based think tank, released their 2026 Global Peace Index report.
The Global Peace Index measures the level of conflictuality in each country using 23 indicators grouped into three domains: Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict, Societal Safety and Security, and Militarisation.
Their analysis produces a safety score for each country in the world, and a corresponding ranking.
European countries are among the safest in the world, with Iceland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ireland, Austria, Portugal and Finland all in the top 10.
The larger European countries tend to be more conflictual, with Spain at the 27th place, Germany at 28th, Italy at 35th.
France is detached from its neighbors, at the 99th place, between Tanzania and Gabon.
France ranks relatively low in the Global Peace Index because it scores poorly on several indicators in all three GPI domains: high militarisation (especially arms exports, nuclear capability and external deployments), significant involvement in external conflicts, and elevated levels of social unrest and perceived insecurity at home.
- https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Global-Peace-Index-2026-Report.pdf ↩