Taiwan Falls on Peace Index
REPORTER:
Taiwan has dropped five places in the Global Peace Index. It’s now 42nd in this year’s ranking by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland took the top three spots. Taiwan ranked ninth in the Asia-Pacific region, behind New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan. Factors like conflicts, social safety and militarization levels are used to make the ranking. The report says increased regional tensions and higher defense spending in Taiwan raised the country’s “militarization” score, dragging down its overall ranking. On that metric, Taiwan fell behind 12 other Asia-Pacific countries.
Countries it ranked behind: Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Mongolia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Australia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Japan
Overall Score:
2025 – 1.730
2026 – 1.751
Mil:
2025 – 1.787
2026 – 1.808