Positive Peace Index 2026: Afghanistan Ranks 157th
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), in its “Positive Peace Index 2026” report, has ranked Afghanistan 157th out of 163 countries, indicating that the state of positive peace in Afghanistan deteriorated during the period under review.
According to the report, Afghanistan’s Positive Peace Index score reached 4.19, with the country’s overall standing declining by 3.3 percent.
Afghanistan also dropped three places compared with the previous ranking and remains among countries with a low level of positive peace.
Enayatullah Adel, a political analyst, said: “These reports do not, in fact, correspond with the realities of Afghanistan and what is happening in the country; rather, they contradict them.”
Denmark, Finland and Sweden ranked first, second and third, respectively.
Afghanistan is followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia.
In its assessment, the Institute for Economics and Peace considers not only the absence of war and violence but also factors such as effective governance, the free flow of information, human capital and acceptance of the rights of others.
The Institute for Economics and Peace report states: “Afghanistan’s deterioration was driven by a significant decline in indicators related to political openness and the flow of information. Press freedom declined by 78.8 percent, the largest decline in a single indicator in the region. At the same time, the quality of information declined by 23.4 percent, while laws supporting equal treatment of different population groups deteriorated by 25 percent.”
Yousuf Amin Zazi, a political analyst, said: “Peace is a very broad concept. Peace exists when people have complete security and tranquility, all their rights are restored, they are confident about their future, and governments are accountable. Only then can we say that there is positive peace.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has so far not commented on the report.
