Armenia Records Significant Changes in Positive Peace Index

Armenia ranks 54th in the Positive Peace Index (PPI), according to Positive Peace Report 2024 of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

According to the report, out of 163 countries, the most significant positive changes were recorded in Uzbekistan, Armenia, Gambia, Taiwan and Ireland. Armenia improved its position by 16 points and is among the countries with a high positive peace index.

Out of former Soviet republics, only Estonia (22nd), Lithuania (24th), Latvia (31st) and Georgia (49th) are ahead of Armenia.

Moldova is ranked 60th, Ukraine 66th, Kazakhstan 71st, Belarus 83rd, Turkey 91st, Russia 93rd, Uzbekistan 98th, Kyrgyzstan 101st, Azerbaijan 104th, Iran 124th, Tajikistan 131st and Turkmenistan 132nd.

Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland are in the top five countries in the ranking. The outsiders are South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, CAR and Chad.

The Armenian PPI score improved by 9.2 per cent since 2013, placing the country as the second highest ranking in the Russia and Eurasia region. All domains of Positive Peace improved in the country in the past decade.

All Pillars recorded substantial improvements in Armenia, with the exception of Good Relations with Neighbors, which deteriorated by 0.8 per cent. Free Flow of Information, Acceptance of the Rights of Others and Low Levels of Corruption all recorded improvements of over 15 per cent. The largest improvement was in information access, with Armenia’s telecom infrastructure index indicator improving by 35.4 per cent since 2013.

This, coupled with a 3.3 per cent improvement in the quality of information indicator, resulted in the overall improvement in the Free Flow of Information Pillar. Freedom House reported that “there were no major restrictions on press freedom during the 2018 parliamentary election campaign,” and that independent media outlets provide a diversity of perspectives in the country. There has been progress in combatting corruption in the country, as Armenia has recently established a Corruption Prevention Commission and adopted new laws to reform its anti-corruption institutional framework.

These initiatives are contributing factors to the 14.9 per cent improvement seen in the control of corruption indicator from 2013 to 2022. The current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has resulted in all Armenians fleeing the region. This conflict is likely to place further stress on Armenia and may make it difficult to maintain its current levels of improvements in Positive Peace.