Vietnam has been ranked after Singapore in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and 39th among 144 independent states worldwide.

Collated and calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit headquartered in London, and providing analysis and forecasts on more than 200 countries and six key industries, GPI is composed of 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators including foreign wars, internal and external conflicts, the number of murders and of people in jail.

The third edition of the annual ranking GPI was announced at a peace conference held by US nonprofit organizations including the Fulbright Center and the Association for the University for Peace.

Harriet Fulbright, president of Fulbright Center, said the index result was a big present to Vietnamese people because their country had undergone a long period of war, but had quickly become one of the most peaceful countries in the region.

Reports at the conference showed that Vietnam has established a stable economy, and played a valuable role in multilateral diplomatic and development initiatives including containing military operations.

Pham Van Chuong, vice chairman of Vietnam Peace and Development Fund and member of Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, said representatives from other countries at the conference praised Vietnam’s ability to maintain peace while ensuring economic growth and improving its residents’ lives.

Other countries in the top five include Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Austria. Iraq remained on bottom of the list below Afghanistan and Somalia.

The US was ranked 83rd due to its high prison population and heavy military spending, said Vision of Humanity that groups together a number of interrelated initiatives focused on global peace.

Source: Agencies