Ghana is third most peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ghana has been ranked as the third most peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 2020 Global Peace Index.

The report which was released on June 11, 2020, covered 99.7 percent of the world’s population made up of 163 countries.

Ghana moved a place up from the 44th rank in the 2019 index to 43rd in the 2020 index on the global ranking.

The country was preceded by Mauritius and Botswana who placed 23rd and 33rd respectively.

Zambia (44), Sierra Leone (46), Senegal (47), Tanzania (52), Namibia (53), Liberia (56) and Malawi (59) are the other countries who made up Africa’s top 10 on the global ranking.

According to the report, Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a slight fall in peacefulness in the year under review though 20 countries improved in peacefulness.

“Twenty countries in the region improved in peacefulness while 24 deteriorated. Disputes over election results and demands for political change have led to civil unrest and political instability in several countries across the region, with violent protests breaking out in many countries over the past year.”

The report also stated that Nigeria, who placed 40th in Africa and 147th in the global ranking, “continues to face challenges on both Safety and Security and ongoing conflict domains. The conflict between government forces and Boko Haram in the northeast led to an estimated 640 civilians killed in 2019.”

Nigeria’s challenges with cross-border smuggling and imports which has led to the closure of its borders also played a role in the country’s low ranking.

The Global Peace Index is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) annually. It ranks 163 independent countries according to their level of peacefulness.

The 2020 report is the 14th edition IEP has produced.