The 20 most peaceful countries in the world, ranked

Amid international conflicts and domestic tensions, some may feel that the US is not the safest place to live right now.

While safety can be a subjective measure, that assessment is not entirely off base: The US is ranked the 134th most peaceful country in the world — falling behind nations like Venezuela, Lebanon, and India — in the 2026 Global Peace Index (GPI).

A Gallup poll released in October 2024 showed that 21% of polled Americans expressed a desire to move abroad, up from 17% in 2023 and 10% in 2011.

Some Americans have considered moving overseas due to factors such as crime rates, modern conflicts, work-life balance, the cost of living, and parenting values.

However, Gallup also found that the US was the most desired destination for citizens of other countries.

The 2026 Global Peace Index, which was released in June, evaluated countries across three domains: ongoing conflicts, societal safety and security, and militarization.

For ongoing conflicts, the report looked at both “internal and external conflicts, as well as their role and duration of involvement.” Societal safety and security are evaluated by factors such as homicide rates, political terror, violent demonstrations, and perceptions of criminality.

Lastly, the militarization domain consists of a country’s military spending as a percentage of its GDP, weapons access, and other factors.

Here are the 20 most peaceful countries in the world, according to the 2026 Global Peace Index.