Five largest improvements in Peace.

 

Azerbaijan experienced the largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, with its score improving by 5.6 per cent. Azerbaijan is now ranked 95th on the GPI and is at its most peaceful since 2008. This is the country’s second consecutive year of improvement in peacefulness. Eleven indicators improved, two deteriorated and ten recorded no change. Peacefulness reached a low point in Azerbaijan in 2020, after a major escalation in the territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. More than seven thousand soldiers and civilians were killed over six weeks of fighting. A ceasefire deal was reached in November 2020, brokered by Russia and reinforced by Russian peacekeepers. However, violations by both countries prompted a short, yet deadly period of cross-border attacks in 2022. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in NagornoKarabakh and regained full control of the region. Russianmediated peace talks resumed and have continued into 2025, with a peace treaty reportedly drafted in March 2025.16 Although Azerbaijan’s actions in Nagorno-Karabakh remain controversial, the halt in fighting has proved effective at reducing violence in the country. In particular, last year Azerbaijan recorded significant improvements on the Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security domains. Both the number of deaths from internal conflict and number of deaths from external conflict fell to zero, with a similarly large improvement in the violent demonstrations indicator. On the Militarisation domain, the armed services personnel rate, weapons imports and UN peacekeeping funding indicators all improved, the latter two by 13.7 and 9.8 per cent, respectively. Although violence has subsided following Azerbaijan’s reclamation of Nagorno-Karabakh, renewed uncertainty over the state of peace talks may reignite conflict. In March 2025, an Azerbaijan news outlet accused Armenia of training its reserve forces in preparation for an offensive.17 Similarly, Azerbaijan saw deteriorations on the military expenditure and nuclear and heavy weapons indicators on the Militarisation domain, with military expenditure rising to 4.9 per cent of GDP. This signals that the country may be positioning itself to respond to any threat to its current position

Saudia Arabia recorded the second largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, moving up 14 places to rank 90th. Its overall score improved by 5.2 per cent, with improvements on nine indicators, deteriorations on three, and 11 recording no change. All three GPI domains recorded improvements over the past year. The largest improvement was seen on the Militarisation domain, driven by improvements on the armed services personnel rate, weapons imports, and UN peacekeeping funding indicators. The Ongoing Conflict domain recorded a minor improvement, with deaths from internal conflict, internal conflicts fought, and external conflicts fought all improving The Safety and Security domain also recorded an improvement, largely due to a 22.2 per cent decrease in political instability. The political landscape in Saudi Arabia has improved as a result of the government’s Vision 2030 reforms, which aim to increase economic, social, and cultural diversification. Diplomatic outreach by Saudi Arabia has also strengthened governance and regional cooperation. Additionally, it has restored ties with Lebanon and Iran, and the country has served as a mediating party in some international conflicts amid the substantial geopolitical tensions in the region. Although the Militarisation domain improved as a whole, two indicators on this domain deteriorated, with military expenditure and nuclear and heavy weapons indicators deteriorating by 5.3 and 1.9 per cent, respectively. Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP in Saudi Arabia is now over 6.5 per cent, the sixth highest level of any country globally.

Uganda recorded the third largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, with its overall score improving by 4.5 per cent. It moved up 12 places in the rankings and is now ranked 113th. All three GPI domains improved, with Militarisation and Ongoing Conflict recording the largest improvements, at 11.7 and 7.2 per cent, respectively. Within the Militarisation domain, all indicators improved aside from weapons exports, which showed no change from the year prior. Notably, the UN peacekeeping funding indicator improved by 40.5 per cent, while weapons imports improved by 14.5 per cent. The improvement on the Ongoing Conflict domain was driven by a 94.5 per cent decrease in the deaths from internal conflict indicator. Conflict deaths in Uganda are now at their lowest level since 2021. The fall in conflict deaths was mirrored by an improvement on the terrorism impact indicator, which was the 

most improved indicator on the Safety and Security domain in the past year. This improvement comes after an 80 per cent deterioration on the same indicator in 2023, when attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group linked to Islamic State and based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulted in the deaths of 37 students in western Uganda.18 The homicide rate and violent demonstrations indicators also recorded improvements over the past year. Despite improvements on several indicators, Uganda still faces many challenges in the security and conflict spheres. There were slight deteriorations on the refugees and IDPs and perceptions of criminality indicators over the past year, with over half the population reporting that they do not feel safe walking alone at night. Furthermore, Uganda’s ongoing military operations within the Democratic Republic of Congo against the ADF led to a deterioration on the external conflicts fought indicator. In March 2025, Uganda also deployed special forces to South Sudan as the country faces the threat of civil war.

The Gambia recorded the fifth largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, rising 16 places to rank 55th. Its overall score improved by 4.9 per cent, with improvements in six indicators, deteriorations on two, and 15 recording no change. The Militarisation and Safety and Security domains both improved by over seven per cent, and The Gambia is now the fourth most peaceful country in sub-Saharan Africa, behind only Mauritius, Botswana, and Namibia. The improvement on the Safety and Security domain was driven by an improvement on The Gambia’s score on the political terror scale. The Gambia is now the only country in sub-Saharan Africa with a perfect score of 1 on the Political Terror Scale, which indicates a secure rule of law, with political violence being exceptional or rare. The level of violent demonstrations also fell, despite a deterioration on the political instability indicator. The deterioration on the Ongoing Conflict domain was driven solely by the external conflicts fought indicator, which deteriorated by 12.7 per cent. The deterioration in this indicator is driven by The Gambia’s proximity to the Casamance region of Senegal, which has been contested by separatist rebels since the 1980s. In recent years, violence near The Gambia’s border has displaced thousands of people internally and prompted heightened border security operations by The Gambian Armed Forces.20 However, despite strong economic growth, averaging over five per cent for the last three years, The Gambia still faces significant challenges. Political instability deteriorated over the past year, largely a result of civil unrest fuelled by discontent over poverty, mismanagement and rising living costs. Delays in more political reforms, lingering insecurity from a failed 2022 coup and regional instability further heightened tensions, while increasing utility prices and inflation exacerbated economic hardship.

Peru recorded the fourth largest improvement in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, with its overall score improving by 4.5 per cent. It moved up 14 places in the rankings and is now ranked 96th. Both the Ongoing Conflict and Safety and Security domains improved, while the Militarisation domain deteriorated. In all, eight indicators improved, eight deteriorated and seven experienced no change. Many of Peru’s improvements were linked to a decline in civil unrest and a reduction in public demonstrations opposing the government of President Dina Boluarte, which came to power in 2022 following the removal of President Pedro Castillo, who had attempted to dissolve the national congress. In the past year, the violent demonstrations indicator improved by 22 per cent. The political instability indicator also improved by 13.6 per cent as a lack of major unrest allowed President Boluarte to consolidate her presidency. Additionally, economic recovery and institutional reforms strengthened governance, while security crackdowns on organised crime further reinforced stability. Other indicators on the Safety and Security domain that improved were terrorism impact, which decreased by 24.8 per cent, and the homicide rate, and police rate, which registered smaller improvements. The fall in political unrest also led to an improvement on the Ongoing Conflict domain. Deaths from internal conflict fell from 12 in 2023 to zero in 2024, marking the first year since 2019 that no conflict deaths were recorded. However, increasing Militarisation remains a concern, as the domain registered an overall deterioration of 1.4 per cent. Four out of six indicators deteriorated in 2024, with UN peacekeeping funding recording the largest deterioration. Other indicators to deteriorate were nuclear and heavy weapons, military expenditure and weapons imports.