Asia July 14, 2009, 10:40AM EST

How Peaceful Is Your Country?

The Global Peace Index measures 144 countries by how peaceful each is, internally and externally. The U.S. ranks 83rd

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"It started as a question," says Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea of the Global Peace Index, a survey he helped found three years ago that measures peace. The Sydney native was wandering through war zones in Africa in 2005 looking for business opportunities when the question struck him. "I was wondering what the inverse [of violence] looked like—what were the most peaceful countries? I searched the Internet and couldn't find anything."

The absence of any such information started to make Killelea ponder just how little the world knows about peace. Every country has some sort of Defense Dept. Schoolchildren the world over scour textbooks to learn about Roman battles and world wars. But while the situation is now starting to change, for the great majority of their existence major academic institutions devoted very little resources or time to peace studies.

Killelea, 60, is the founder of two global IT companies, Software Professionals (later acquired by BMC Software (BMC)) and Integrated Research (IRI.AX), the latter of which made him millions at its 2000 public offering, as well as a venture capital fund. From his business experience he knew that most of his colleagues in the investment world favor markets in stable, conflict-free countries. "But if you can't measure it," he asks, referring to peace, "how do you understand if what you're doing is helping or hurting?"

Survival Depends on It

So in 2007, Killelea, who the Sydney Morning Herald has called "the country's largest individual donor to overseas aid," released the Global Peace Index (GPI) for the first time. It is housed under Vision of Humanity, a Web site bringing together a number of his initiatives that research the role and impact of peace in the world, including the Institute for Economics & Peace and One Tree Films. "If you look at the major challenges facing humanity today, they're global in nature—sustainability, biodiversity, climate change, overpopulation," Killelea says. "Global peace is a prerequisite for survival in the 21st century."

The study seeks to inform not only public policy and nonprofits about global peace but also to educate businesspeople looking to explore and expand their investment strategies in emerging markets. The year-over-year analyses can help them identify new opportunities.

Vision of Humanity released its third annual GPI in 2009. Produced in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit, it ranks the world's nations based on 23 indicators of the existence or absence of peace both within and outside a country's borders. The indicators use quantitative and qualitative data from the World Bank, various U.N. offices and peace institutes, and the Economist Intelligence Unit and are divided into three categories: five measures of ongoing domestic and international conflict, 10 measures of safety and security in society, and eight measures of militarization.

Good Government Helps

The final list, intended to reflect the state of peace for each nation in the past year (as opposed to historically), includes 144 countries in 2009 and covers almost 99% of the world population and 87% of the planet geographically. Five countries were added this year: Burundi (No. 127), Georgia (No. 134), Guyana (No. 97), Montenegro (No. 91), and Nepal (No. 77). Hong Kong, No. 23 in 2008, was dropped from the list due to its close relationship with China.