2023-06-29 16:30:00
WARS – The annual report published yesterday, Wednesday 28 June, by the think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) reveals an increase in the number of deaths from armed conflict over the past year.
According to Global Peace Index of the IEP, nearly 238,000 people lost their lives in one of the current armed conflicts in the world in 2022, which is 96% more than the previous year. This figure represents the highest mortality rate observed in such conditions at the beginning of this century and since 2014, the year of the Rwandan genocide.
A total of 79 countries have seen a massive upsurge in tensions, particularly Ethiopia, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel and South Africa. The wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia caused the highest number of deaths in 2022, with some 83,000 and 100,000 conflict-related casualties respectively.
The most “peaceful” countries, according to the report, are Iceland, Denmark, Ireland and New Zealand. For the sixth consecutive year, Afghanistan is the country with the least peace, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, despite increased public investment in defense and regional tensions with neighboring countries due to the war in Ukraine.
In Latin America, Uruguay is the least dangerous country, while Colombia is the most conflictive country. In general, despite political instability and the pervasiveness of organized crime, the situation in South American countries is gradually improving compared to previous years.
An economic impact
As conflicts increase, more and more countries are redirecting military spending to other priorities, such as health, education, infrastructure and the fight against pandemics; nevertheless, total military spending has increased by 17% since 2008 (92 countries have increased their military budget), with the largest increases coming from China ($180 billion), the United States ($70 billion) and India ($40 billion).
The impact of violence on the global economy has risen by $1 trillion to a record high of $17.5 trillion, equivalent to 13% of global GDP ($2,200 per person) and 64 % of Ukraine’s GDP, due to military spending related to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The disparity in the economic impact of the violence is striking, with the ten most affected countries accounting for an average of 34% of GDP, compared to just 3% for the ten least affected countries.
“After the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and now in Ukraine, it is obvious that the most powerful armies cannot impose themselves on a local population with sufficient resources”said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the IEP who also noted that “war has become, in most cases, unwinnable and an increasingly heavy economic burden”.
Finally, the document also attests that drones are increasingly used in conflicts, such as in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Myanmar. As proof, the number of attacks has increased by 41% in 2022 and the number of groups using them by 24%.
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