Thailand's ranking in the Global Peace Index has risen but the kingdom remains mid-table in the latest edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI).
The 2024 GPI showed Thailand was the 75th most peaceful country, a surge of 11 notches from last year, according to the recently released report.
The index from the Institute for Economics & Peace headquartered in Sydney surveyed 163 countries and territories encompassing 99.7% of the global population.
The institute used three domains in calculating the rankings and found Thailand in the middle of the pack in two: social safety and security, and ongoing domestic and international conflicts. But the country scored in the top 20 in terms of militarisation – military capability, technology and readiness to battle.
Thailand was above only the Philippines and Myanmar among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Singapore was the most peaceful country in the region, followed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia. Brunei was the only Asean member which was not in the survey.
Singapore ranked fifth globally, while neighbouring Malaysia was in the 10th position, according to the survey.
The most peaceful country in the world was Iceland and the least was Yemen, while the most dangerous region was the Middle East and North Africa. "It is home to four of the ten least peaceful countries in the world, including the two least peaceful, Sudan and Yemen," the report said.
The report warned that the world was threatened by increasing conflicts as 92 countries engaged in a conflict beyond their borders, the most since the inception of the GPI in 2008. "The internationalisation of conflict is driven by increased great power competition and the rise of middle level powers, who are becoming more active in their regions," it said.
