Global Peace Index 2026: Peacefulness Falls for 12th Straight Year as 61 Active State-Based Conflicts Mark Post-WWII High

June 9, 2026 — The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) launched the 20th edition of the Global Peace Index, finding that global peacefulness deteriorated for a 12th consecutive year — the longest decline since the index began in 2007. 99 countries recorded worsening scores, the most in a single year on record, while the world logged 61 active state-based conflicts, the highest count since World War II. Conflict deaths topped 181,000 in 2025, roughly six times the 2008 level, and the global economic cost of violence reached $21.81 trillion (10.5% of world GDP). A new chapter examined AI-enabled warfare, noting drone-attack incidents have risen over 11,500% since 2018. Russia ranked as the world's least peaceful country for the first time in the index's history; the United States fell to 134th. IEP framed the findings as underscoring the widening gap between the scale of active conflict and the capacity of existing peace architecture — UN mediation, regional bodies, and bilateral diplomacy — to contain it.