These are the 10 most violent countries in the world

With ongoing civil conflicts raging and terrorist attacks a near-daily occurrence, Syria and Iraq 'top' the charts as the least peaceful countries on Earth.

The findings are part of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) which measures the "peacefulness" of nations based on levels of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

Overall, the report found that the world has become less peaceful over the course of the last eight years, with the gap between the most and least violent widening.

Fifteen of the world's 20 most peaceful countries are located in Europe while the majority of the most violent are located in the Middle East and Africa.

While the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have seen the most peaceful nations' rankings improve, more intense civil conflicts have seen the most violent nations' rankings worsen.

Overall the world spent $14.3tn (£9.1tn), or 13.4 per cent of global GDP, as a result of violence in the last year - a figure which incorporates military spending, losses from crime, internal security costs and losses from conflict.

These are the 10 least peaceful nations on Earth:

1. Syria (above)

2. Iraq

3. Afghanistan

4. South Sudan

5. Central African Republic

6. Somalia

7. Sudan

8. DR Congo

9. Pakistan

10. North Korea

These are the 10 most peaceful nations on Earth:

1. Iceland (above)

2. Denmark

3. Austria

4. New Zealand

5. Switzerland

6. Finland

7. Canada

8. Japan

9. Australia

10. Czech Republic

To reach the study's conclusions, researchers from the Institute for Economics and Peace collected qualitative and quantitative data using 23 indicators from 162 countries over the course of eight years.

Find out more about the Global Peace Index below:

You can see the full report here and view the GPI interactive map here.

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