Politics: Here are the least peaceful countries in Sub-Saharan Africa 2018

Nigeria has been ranked 40 out of the total 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 2018 edition of Global Peace Index.

• Nigeria has been ranked 40 out of the total 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Mauritius, Botswana, Madagascar, Ghana, Namibia and Malawi are the most peaceful nations on African soil.

• The report states that the world is “less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade”.

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Nigeria has been ranked 40 out of the total 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with Mauritius topping the list and South Sudan as the least peaceful country.

Mauritius, Botswana, Madagascar, Ghana, Namibia and Malawi are the most peaceful nations on African soil.

The 2018 edition of Global Peace Index (GPI) released on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, placed Nigeria on 148 out of 168 countries to rank the16th least peaceful country in the world

The report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), said the global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27% in the last year, marking the fourth successive year of deterioration.

It also said the world is “less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade”.

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The largest regional improvements were in terrorism impact, perceptions of criminality, violent crime, neighbouring countries relations, and militarisation, but those were offset by deteriorations in violent demonstrations, refugees and IDPs and political terror.

According to the 2018 edition of Global Peace Index (GPI), six of the top seven improvers were in West Africa, including the Gambia, which scored the world’s largest improvement after Yahya Jammeh was voted out of power at the end of 2016.

Of the 14 West African nations, the overall scores of only two – Niger and Nigeria – deteriorated last year.

There were substantial sub-regional improvements in the domain of Safety and Security, including Liberia by 8%, the Gambia by 5.9% and Ghana by 5.5%

The most notable West African exceptions were Togo and Cameroon.

Togo

 

Togo is the region’s second largest deterioration, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Faure Gnassingbé, whose family have ruled the country for 50 years.

Also READ: 5 world's most war-torn countries

Cameroon

 

With the region’s third-largest deterioration, has seen Anglophone secessionists launch a number of attacks on government security forces during the year.

Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad

 

“The Lake Chad basin region continues to have problems with Boko Haram and a humanitarian crisis brought on by prolonged drought,”, the report says.

“Boko Haram’s geographic reach shrank in 2017, leading to a reduction in the impact of terrorism in the groups’ principal areas of operations in although they still remain a threat.”

Here is the ranking of least peaceful African countries on the 2018 edition of Global Peace Index

1. Uganda 107

2. Côte d'Ivoire 110

3. Kenya 123

4. Zimbabwe 124

5. Niger 128

6. Cameroon 133

7. Ethiopia 139

8. Nigeria 148

9. Sudan 153

10. Libya 157

11. South Sudan 161

Nigeria was ranked at 149 on the 2017 global peace index while Haiti, Bolivia, Chile, and Latvia were ranked the most peaceful countries in the world.