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Globally, $9.46 trillion, or 11 per cent of GDP, was spent in 2012 to tackle violence resulting from internal and external conflicts as well as homicides, according to the Global Peace Index 2013 released recently.
Military expenditure was the largest single contributor, with over $4.9 trillion or 51 per cent of the economic impact a year, followed by homicides, with an estimated impact of $1.43 trillion a year. This was closely followed by police and security, which accounted for $1.3 trillion a year.
The report by the Institute of Economics & Peace says that if the world is able to reduce the cost of violence by 50 per cent, it would generate enough money to repay the debt of the developing world, provide enough money for the European stability mechanism, and fund the additional amount required to fund the Millennium Development Goals.
Since 2008, the world has become a less peaceful place, with 110 countries out of 162 becoming less peaceful, says the report. It attributes this to the rising number of homicides, increasing military expenditure as a percentage of GDP and political instability.
India’s Defence spending
India, which ranks 141 out 162 countries, has, however become more peaceful, but its rising military expenditure is a cause for concern. The country’s violence containment cost was estimated at $150 per person in 2012, says the report.
“India’s internal peace indicators benefited from an improvement in the perception of criminality in society and the number of deaths from organised conflict, but increased defence spending pulled its score down,” it says.
The report pinpoints India’s border tensions that require it to maintain a large military force. The increase in defence expenditure is a drag on its overall peace score, the report adds.
Also, criminality is perceived to be “high” in India, more so than elsewhere in South Asia, apart from Afghanistan .
The top three most peaceful countries are Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand, while the three least peaceful countries are Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria.
The countries have been ranked on the basis of three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation.
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