Experience

Belgium 16th safest country in 2025

Posted by Timothy on

Belgium has been ranked among the world’s 20 safest countries for 2025, according to the latest edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI). The country placed 16th overall, achieving a score of 1.492 out of 5, where lower scores indicate higher levels of peace.

Published annually, the Global Peace Index evaluates the state of peace and security across the globe using a broad range of qualitative and quantitative measures. Belgium’s strong performance reflects low homicide and incarceration rates, a limited intensity of internal conflict, and stable relations with neighbouring states.

In particular, Belgium scored exceptionally well for its diplomatic environment, with relations with neighbouring countries receiving the highest possible rating of 1 out of 5. 

General societal safety and security was also rated favourably, at 1.6 out of 5. One area where Belgium performed less strongly was access to small arms and light weapons, which received a weaker score of 3 out of 5.

At the top of the global rankings, Iceland retained its position as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Ireland, New Zealand, Austria and the iconically neutral Switzerland. Europe continued to dominate the upper end of the index, accounting for 14 of the top 20 countries.

Heated rivalry

Despite Belgium’s positive result, the broader global picture is far less reassuring. The 2025 report highlights a continued decline in global peacefulness, with rising conflict-related deaths, intensifying geopolitical tensions and what researchers describe as a growing ‘Great Fragmentation‘ in the international order. 

Increasing rivalry between major powers, the spread of asymmetric warfare technologies and mounting debt in fragile economies are all identified as factors heightening the risk of future conflicts as the world moves into 2026.

What is the Global Peace Index?

Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the Global Peace Index is widely regarded as the world’s leading benchmark for measuring peacefulness. It provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of trends in peace, the economic costs of violence, and the conditions required to build and sustain peaceful societies.

The index covers 99.7% of the world’s population and is calculated using 23 indicators drawn from highly respected international data sources. These indicators are grouped into three broad domains: societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the level of militarisation.

Understanding the 23 indicators of peace

The Global Peace Index was founded by Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea and is produced by the IEP, an independent global think tank dedicated to measuring peace and quantifying its economic value.

The index measures what is known as Negative Peace—the absence of violence or the fear of violence—across three domains, using 23 separate indicators.

1: Ongoing domestic and international conflict

This domain uses six indicators to assess a country’s involvement in internal and external conflicts. It examines the number, duration and intensity of conflicts, the death toll associated with organised violence, and the quality of relations with neighbouring countries. Both statistical data and qualitative assessments are used to capture the scale and persistence of conflict.

2: Societal safety and security

The second domain focuses on the level of harmony or discord within a society. Eleven indicators measure factors such as perceived criminality, homicide rates, political instability, terrorism, violent demonstrations, incarceration levels and the size of refugee or internally displaced populations. Low crime, political stability and strong social cohesion are treated as key markers of peacefulness.

3: Militarisation

The final domain examines the degree to which a country relies on military force. Six indicators assess military expenditure as a share of GDP, the size of armed forces, access to weapons, arms imports and exports, nuclear and heavy weapons capabilities, and financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping missions. Higher levels of militarisation are generally associated with lower levels of peace.

Global trends: peace under pressure

Between 2024 and 2025, the GPI recorded deterioration in 13 of its 23 indicators, while eight showed improvement and two remained unchanged. The sharpest decline was linked to the number of external conflicts fought, underlining the growing prevalence of international and proxy conflicts. The most notable improvement was seen in perceptions of criminality, suggesting modest gains in how safe people feel in some parts of the world.

The world’s safest and least peaceful countries in 2025

Top 20 most peaceful countries: 

  1. Iceland.
  2. Ireland.
  3. New Zealand.
  4. Austria.
  5. Switzerland.
  6. Singapore.
  7. Portugal.
  8. Denmark.
  9. Slovenia.
  10. Finland.
  11. Czechia.
  12. Japan.
  13. Malaysia.
  14. Canada.
  15. Netherlands.
  16. Belgium.
  17. Hungary.
  18. Australia.
  19. Croatia.
  20. Germany

Bottom 10 least peaceful countries:

154. Mali.
155. Israel.
156. South Sudan.
157. Syria.
158. Afghanistan.
159. Yemen.
160. Democratic Republic of the Congo.
161. Sudan.
162. Ukraine.
163. Russia.

Together, the rankings underline a world increasingly divided between regions of relative stability and areas experiencing prolonged and intensifying conflict-making 

Belgium’s position among the top 20 a notable bright spot in an otherwise troubling global outlook.

Statistics v. personal experience

The Global Peace Index looks at peace in the sense of war and peace. So ‘safe’ should be seen in that way. 

While the second theme looks at “eleven indicators measure factors such as perceived criminality, homicide rates, political instability, terrorism, violent demonstrations, incarceration levels and the size of refugee or internally displaced populations”, it doesn’t solely. 

Does that means there’s no risk of being mugged in Belgium? No. It also doesn’t mean you will always feel safe, as one does in Japan, South Korea, Singapore or other places in East Asia, an area often associated with personal safety. South Korea is at war with North Korea, but you don’t feel it when there. 

Statistics are two-dimensional and don’t express ‘real live’. With numbers and figure, I often think of René Magritte‘s ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe‘. The painting of drawing of a pipe isn’t a pipe. It’s a painting or a drawing. You may be a an expert or an academic in Magritte’s pipe, but that doesn’t mean you know anything about smoking pipes.

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