Ghana has been ranked as the third most peaceful country in the world by the latest Global Peace Index published on Wednesday, 19 June 2019.

Botswana came first followed by Malawi.

Ghana placed 44th in the world with Iceland coming tops as the most peaceful nation on Earth.

The index from the Institute for Economics & Peace also reveals that for the first time in five years, there is a slight improvement in global peacefulness. On average, country scores improved 0.09 percent, as 86 countries recorded more peacefulness and 76 countries showed deterioration.

However, even as some crises and conflicts of the last decade finally begin to subside, the report found that the world is notably less peaceful than 10 years ago. Compared to 2008, the average level of peacefulness is 3.78 percent lower. Only three times in the last decade has the index recorded any overall improvement.

The top 10 peaceful countries in the world are Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Austria, Denmark and Canada.

The rest are: Singapore, Slovenia, Japan and the Czech Republic.

Afghanistan is now the least peaceful country in the world, replacing Syria.