Global Peace Index

This afternoon we have been just relaxing and checking email in Antigua after taking in some of the sights. I picked up a newspaper this afternoon and came across an article about the "Global Peace Index" the headline in the Prensa Libre stated that 14 Latin American countries are more peaceful then the U.S. Its a survey that looks at levels of violent crime, respect for human rights, access to weapons, military expenditure, freedom of the press, relations with neighbouring countries ect. Its a very interesting study placing countries like Iceland , Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Japan as the top 5 most peaceful countries. Maybe not much of a surprise there. While the US sadly came in at 97. Countries of note ranking better then the US include China (67th), Rwanda (76th), Cuba (62nd), Germany (14th), Serbia (85th). Guatemala was ranked the 103rd most peaceful country. The least peaceful countries according to the study were Israel (136th), Afghanistan(137th), Sudan (138th), Somalia (139th), and Iraq (140th). Check it out.