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Peace in Indonesia most improved in Asia-Pacific: survey
TOGETHER IN HARMONY: Indonesian Muslim devotees arrive at Istiqlal mosque located across Jakarta Cathedral, seen in the background as Christian and Muslim devotees attend prayers in their house of worships (Romeo Gacad/AFP)
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span class="caption">TOGETHER IN HARMONY: Indonesian Muslim devotees arrive at Istiqlal mosque located across Jakarta Cathedral, seen in the background as Christian and Muslim devotees attend prayers in their house of worships (Romeo Gacad/AFP).
Indonesia is the most improved country in the Asia-Pasific region in terms of peace, according to the 2015 Global Peace Index (GPI) report.
Launched by a think tank called the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the report shows that Indonesia jumped 12 places from 58th last year to 46th this year, with an overall GPI score of 1.768.
The report states that the country's peace improvement is attributable to, among other things, the 'reduced impact of terrorism'.
The report surveyed 162 countries and measured each nation's peacefulness with 23 indicators. Included on this list was the level of safety and security in a society, the number of international and domestic conflicts and the degree of militarization.
Overall, the report noted that the world's peace remained stable over the year, yet it was still worse than in 2008, with escalations in civil strife and the refugee crisis among the key issues.
'[The year of] 2014 was marked by two contradictory trends: on the one hand, many countries in the OECD achieved historic levels of peace while on the other, strife-torn nations, especially in the Middle East, became more violent. This is a real concern,' IEP executive chairman Steve Killelea said in an official statement released recently.
Europe is listed as the most peaceful region in this year's report, with 15 of the 20 most peaceful countries located in Europe.
Iceland ranks number one on the list this year; meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa are noted as the world's least peaceful regions, due to an increase in civil unrest and terrorist activity.
Neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore fare better in the index than Indonesia, with Singapore ranking 24th and Malaysia 28th. However, compared to last year's report, both countries have not improved much.
However, some countries such as China, Vietnam and the Philippines, show worsening scores, following their involvement in the South China Sea dispute. (fsu/ika)
