(Image source from: LifeBeyondNumbers)

India has been ranked 137th among 163 countries in the 2018 Global Peace Index due to the diminution in the violent crime levels driven by increased law enforcement, according to a report by Australian think tank.

According to the report, Iceland persists to be the most peaceful country in the world, a position held since 2008. Austria, New Zealand, Portugal and Denmark acquired top five most peaceful rankings in the world.

Syria persists to be the least peaceful country in the country, a position held since past five years. South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia are the remaining least peaceful countries in the world.

India has moved up four positions in the overall ranking from 141st to 137th.

"This has largely been due to a reduction in level of violent crime, driven by increased law enforcement. Meanwhile, unrest in Kashmir raised tensions between India and Pakistan, with the number of deaths from external conflict increasing in both countries," said the report published by the Sydney-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP).

The report that provides comprehensive analysis on the state of world peace said that amid prevailing social and political turmoil, the world still prevails to spend tremendous resources on creating and containing ferocity but very little on harmony.

Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, South Korea and Syria are the countries that displayed capabilities of growth in heavy weapons over the past 30 years and are chiefly in unstable regions where there are high enmity with neighbouring countries.

Syria has the greatest increase in death tolls followed by Mexico, Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen.

The outcome of 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) shows that the global peace has been declined by 0.27 per cent in the last year with 92 countries being deteriorated and 17 countries reinforced.

The report said that, the four most peaceful regions - Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America - all recorded deterioration's, with the largest overall deterioration occurring in South America, owing to falls in the safety and security domain, mainly due to increases in the incarceration rate and impact of terrorism.

By Sowmya Sangam