Hey, Don't Forget About Us!

Following on from my earlier post on the Global Peace Index, I'm puzzled about why a number of countries, notably Afghanistan, Congo, Somalia and Iceland, didn't make the list. Somalia and Afghanistan might have "fought" with Iraq for the wooden spoon, while Iceland could have ousted Norway from the most peaceful country perch.

Also omitted was a swathe of West Africa and most Pacific island countries. This is rude. Here in the South Pacific we've had our fair share of conflicts and coups, but only Papua New Guinea (ranked 88 out of 121) and New Zealand (2) made the list.

I'd guess that Samoa, one of the post-colonial success stories of the South Pacific, would feature high on the peace list. On the other hand, Fiji, which has suffered four military coups, and Solomon Islands, which experienced a coup, ethnic conflict and economic collapse, would fall in the bottom third.

Comments

[ortho]

It's not rude, it's reality. Some countries just are not on the radar of planetary security experts.

[strategist]

True Ortho. But hopefully the next edition of the Global Peace Index will rectify this.