Global Security Report: Afghanistan Ranks as World’s 5th Least Peaceful Nation
A new report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has ranked Afghanistan as the fifth most unsafe country in the world for the year 2025. The findings, part of the institute’s annual Global Peace Index (GPI), place the nation 158th out of 163 countries assessed worldwide.
A Persistent State of Instability
According to the detailed analysis, while the level of armed conflict in Afghanistan has decreased compared to previous years, significant challenges remain. The report identifies weak governance, ongoing humanitarian crises, and persistent political instability as the primary factors continuing to negatively impact the country’s overall security situation.
The study further highlights that Afghanistan stands alone in South Asia for receiving the poorest scores across several critical indicators. These include ease of access to small arms, rates of violent crime, political instability, and the number of internally displaced persons.
International Observations on the Ground
Echoing the report’s concerns, Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, recently stated in an interview with PBS that the country under its current governance is not a safe place for anyone. He pointed to the particularly perilous situation for women, girls, and individuals who collaborated with international forces over the past two decades. Bennett noted that efforts to engage with the ruling Taliban have so far yielded limited positive outcomes.
The IEP’s report serves as a crucial benchmark for global security, underscoring the complex and deeply entrenched nature of the challenges facing Afghanistan as it navigates its current political landscape.