The Global Peace Index 2025 has placed the disputed region of Kashmir in the center of the pivotal escalation hotspots of the world, where tensions between Pakistan and India are still ‘perilously high’.
The index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) based in Sydney reports the Kashmir situation as the best example of how ceasefire arrangements are fragile in conflict-prone geographic locations and highlights the risk from non-state actors who can instigate international crises.
The index, a reflection of the state of peace across the world, placed Pakistan at 144 with ‘low state of peace’ while India was at 115 positions with ‘medium state of peace’.
Ukraine and Russia have been ranked lowest among the rankings of 163 nations.
On conflict history and hotspots of conflict escalation in India, the index report states the conflict is very likely in the Kashmir region in the next year.
Analysts used escalation-risk indicators on the Kashmir conflict and determined that it has the potential to deteriorate quickly.
The Global Peace Index 2025 has identified a range of key escalation hotspots and areas where conflict risks are gathering momentum and may turn into full-scale wars.
The index suggests that the second least peaceful region in the world, South Asia, had the highest regional decline in peacefulness.
The decline was primarily led by Bangladesh under the Hasina regime, through repressive policies, and by increased civil unrest along with growing internal and cross-border tensions in Pakistan.
The results of this year established that the average level of global peacefulness decreased by 0.36 per cent.
This is the thirteenth deterioration in peacefulness in the last 17 years, with 74 countries improving and 87 deteriorating in peacefulness. Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008.
