Egypt jumped six spots in the Global Peace Index 2015, marking the third largest improvement in peace in the world, while the Egyptian economy is still bleeding, according to the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace. The institute released its Global Peace Index for 2015 this week, which ranks 162 nations around the globe based on factors such as the level of violent crime, involvement in conflicts and the degree of militarization. Egypt is ranked 137 this year, compared to 143 in 2014. Despite the improvement in Egypt's ranking on the index, the economic impact of containing and dealing with the consequences of Egypt's levels of violence was estimated to cost the national economy US$62.5 billion compared to $36 billion in 2013, a 74 percent increase, the report said. While Egypt had one of the largest declines in its score in 2014, it had the third largest improvement in peace in the world this year, the report said. "Egypt improved overall due to its large improvement in its domestic situation. Since the election of former defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as president in May 2014, levels of crime have dropped, reflecting the effectiveness of the security apparatus." Egypt is ranked 11 out of the 19 countries that make up the Middle East and North Africa region. War-ravaged Syria remained at the bottom of the rankings. And Iraq, the other country where the Islamic militant group IS occupies large areas of territory, dropped below South Sudan and Afghanistan to second to last place. The thinly populated island of Iceland, located in the middle of the North Atlantic, has retained its place as the most peaceful country in the world. Source: Egypt Independent
