The ten people and groups most likely to win the Nobel Peace Prize are not women

The winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday 9 October, and bookmakers have begun to compare the candidates' chances.

Betfair has released the odds of those most likely to win the prize, decided upon by the Nobel committee, and what's slightly astounding is that the top ten don't contain any individual women.

The highest ranking woman on the list of odds is Mary Robinson at 18/1, who was the seventh President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997 and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002.

So without further ado, here are the top ten, or top men, backed by the bookmakers to win in Oslo.

1. Pope Francis

(Picture: Getty)

The pontiff is the favourite after a big year, having visited the United States, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, and held the world's largest -ver papal event, a mass in Manila in front of around six or seven million. And he dropped an album.

2. Denis Mukwege

Denis Mukwege is a Congolese expert gynaecologist who specialises in reconstructive surgeries for gang-rape victims. He has saved the lives of more than 40,000 women.

3. Mussie Zerai

Mussie Zerai is a Catholic priest who is an advocate of refugee rights in Italy.

According to the Italian authorities, Zerai has saved thousands of lives either by encouraging the circulation of his phone number for refugees in emergencies, or by reporting the location of capsized ships to the authorities and bringing aid to those in need.

4. Novaya Gazeta

The Russian newspaper has worked to investigate corruption and has been critical of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

In a nice piece of symmetry, Mikhail Gorbachev helped establish the paper with the funds from his Nobel Peace Prize.

5. Japanese people who conserve Article 9

The Japanese constitution came into effect in 1947, Article 9 of which outlaws war, stating “the right of belligerency will not be recognised".

On 18 September legislation passed which reinterpreted the article, allowing for collective self-defence, meaning Japan could now be able to assist the US and other allies if they are attacked.

6. Daisaku Ikeda

Daisaku Ikeda is the honorary president of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist movement and has been recognised by the US Congress for his promotion of peace.

He received the United Nations Peace award in 1983 and the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award in 1993.

7. Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden was the whistleblower who leaked documents detailing NSA and GCHQ surveillance in 2013.

Snowden is still considered a traitor by many in the US, for his actions which showed the extent of data surveillance both in and outside the States.

He's also just joined Twitter.

8. Raif Badawi

Raif Badawi is the creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals and has criticised Saudi human rights abuses.

He was arrested in 2012 for insulting Islam through electronic channels and his sentence has recently been upheld to 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison.

9. Victor Ochen and AYINET

Victor Ochen is the executive director and founder of the African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET).

AYINET was founded in 2005 and is a neutral, secular, not-for-profit organisation which has provided aid and rehabilitation to those injured or affected by the war.

10. ‘One Billion Acts of Peace’ organisers

In September 2006 the largest gathering of Nobel Peace Laureates in US history was held in Denver, Colorado.

There, they announced plans for a ten-year campaign to tackle the ten largest challenges to the survival of humanity, spanning topics such as the environment, human rights, and access to water and resources.

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