DUSHANBE, May 26, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- In its report released on May 25, 2011, the Global Peace Index (GPI) ranks Tajikistan 103rd among 153 nations in terms of peacefulness.  Tajikistan moved up two place from last year.  In 2010, Tajikistan was ranked 105th among 149 countries.

Iceland tops the Global Peace Index for 2011, ousting New Zealand.  Somalia falls to the bottom, replacing Iraq, which held the last slot for two years.

The United States moved up three places to 82 from last year. 

Russia is ranked 147th, Moldova – 57th, Ukraine – 69th, and Kazakhstan 93rd.  Turkmenistan is ranked 108th, while Armenia and Uzbekistan shared the 109th place.  Belarus is ranked 112th, Kyrgyzstan – 114th and Azerbaijan – 122nd.  

According to the Index, an increased risk of terrorism and significant unrest in the Middle East and North Africa drove dramatic changes in national rankings.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) is an attempt to measure the relative position of nations'' and regions'' peacefulness. It is the product of Institute for Economics and Peace and developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected and collated by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The list was launched first in May 2007, and then continued in May 2008, on June 2, 2009, June 10, 2010 and most recently May 25, 2011.  It is claimed to be the first study to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness.  It ranks 153 countries (up from 121 in 2007).

The study is the brainchild of Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea and is endorsed by individuals such as Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, Muhammad Yunus, economist Jeffrey Sachs, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, and former US president Jimmy Carter. Factors examined by the authors include internal factors such as levels of violence and crime within the country and factors in a country''s external relations such as military expenditure and wars.