London: On the International Day of Peace, India can rejoice the fact it has become slightly more peaceful than before. India has moved up four places to the 137th rank among 163 countries on the 2018 Global Peace Index, primarily due to a reduction in the level of violent crime by increased law enforcement, a report by an Australian think tank stated. In 2016 and 2017, it’s rank was 139 and 138, respectively.

Overall, the results of the 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) show that the state of global peace has deteriorated by 0.27% in the last one year. In the last four years, the global peace index has seen a slump, with 92 countries showing signs of increased unrest. Only 71 countries have shown improvement in ranks.

Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008. New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark are the other countries in the top five most peaceful rankings.

Syria is the least peaceful country in the world, followed by Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia comprise the remaining least peaceful countries. Syria has held the position of the least peaceful country in the world for the last five years.

India was also among the countries with the biggest decreases in the number of deaths, along with Sri Lanka, Chad, Colombia, and Uganda.

"India has seen a reduction in the level of violent crime, driven by increased law enforcement. The unrest in Kashmir in mid-2016 raised tensions between India and Pakistan, with the number of deaths from external conflict increasing in both countries," stated the report published by the Sydney-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP).

The International Peace day is observed as an awareness day that was established by the United Nations in 1981. According to the UN website, the day is observed to "commit to peace above all differences across the world”. The 2018 UN Peace Day theme is 'The right to peace - The universal declaration of human rights at 70'.