VietNamNet Bridge - Safety is one of the factors that attract tourists. According to the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2015, released on June 17, Vietnam ranks 56th.



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This year, Iceland ranks first with the score 1,148, followed by Denmark and Austria.

The US has 2,038 points and drops to 94th, behind Saudi Arabia and below Peru. Vietnam ranks 56th with 1,848 points, among countries with high safety.

At the bottom are Afghanistan at 160th, Iraq 161st, and Syria in the last post at 162nd.

GPI is an attempt to measure the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. It is the product of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and was developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected and collated by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The list was launched in May 2007 and updates have been made on an annual basis since then. It is claimed to be the first study to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness.

It ranks 162 countries, up from 121 in 2007. The study is the brainchild of Australian technology entrepreneur Steve Killelea, founder of Integrated Research, and is endorsed by individuals such as Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, economist Jeffrey Sachs, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, current Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Jan Eliasson and former US president Jimmy Carter.

The index gauges global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization. Factors are both internal such as levels of violence and crime within the country and external such as military expenditure and wars.

The updated index is released each year at events in London, Washington DC and at the United Nations Secretariat in New York, between others.

The 2014 GPI indicated Iceland, Denmark, Austria and New Zealand to be the most peaceful countries and Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iraq to be the least peaceful.

The 10 safest countries in the world in 2015:

1. Iceland (1.148)

2. Denmark (1,150)

3. Austria (1,198)

4. New Zealand (1,221)

5. Switzerland (1,275)

6. Finland (1,277)

7. Canada (1,287)

8. Japan (1,329)

9. Australia (1,329)

10. Czech Republic (1,341)

PV