27 Jun 2015

NZ rated 4th most peaceful country in world

6:12 pm on 27 June 2015

New Zealand has been rated the fourth most peaceful country in the world.

The latest Global Peace Index published by the Institute of Economics and Peace ranks Iceland as the world's most peaceful, followed by Denmark and Austria.

New Zealand is ahead of Switzerland and Finland, but has slipped from second place last year.

Syria and Iraq remain as the world's most dangerous countries.

The index ranks countries according to levels of safety and security, domestic and international conflicts and degree of militarisation.

It has also found the economic impact of violence costs more than 13 percent of the world's GDP.