In the 2024 Global Peace Index Rankings, El Salvador achieved the most significant score improvement; it went down 0.219 points. The index uses a scale from 1 to 5, with the lower the score, the more peaceful the country is.
El Salvador’s score improvement is attributed to notable reductions in the homicide rate and enhanced perceptions of safety among citizens over recent years. El Salvador’s rank improved from 122 last year to 107 in 2024.
| Score | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.25 | -0.219 | 107 |
The 2024 Global Peace Index highlighted El Salvador as the country with the largest improvement in peacefulness, with its score decreasing by 8.87%.
“El Salvador is now ranked 107th on the GPI and is at its most peaceful since 2008. This is the country’s first improvement in peacefulness in four years,” stated the report.
The top five score improvements went to El Salvador with -0.219, United Arab Emirates with -0.186, Nicaragua with -0.151, Greece with -0.145, and Myanmar with -0.145.
The GPI report stated that “the primary driver of the increase in peacefulness in El Salvador was the crackdown on gang-related violence initiated by President Nayib Bukele, who declared a state of emergency in March 2022.”
The State of Exception has allowed the government to arrest and detain over 81,500 suspected gang members or gang collaborators. Although the harsh security policies remain controversial, they have been effective in reducing violence.
SEE ALSO: El Salvador State of Exception; A Security Measure Implemented to Fight Gangs
The GPI report also highlights the decline in El Salvador’s homicide rate, which peaked at 103 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015 and dropped to 35.8 in 2019 when Bukele became president.
The country’s homicide rate has dropped to new lows during the State of Exception; it was reduced to 2.4 per 100,000 people in 2023 and is on pace to be even lower in 2024.
Central America
Costa Rica leads the overall ranking in Central America. The Pura Vida country ranks 58, followed by Panama at 96, El Salvador at 107, Nicaragua at 113, Guatemala at 117, and Honduras at 123.
| Score | Change | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 1.95 | 0.065 | 58 |
| Panama | 2.14 | 0.040 | 96 |
| El Salvador | 2.25 | -0.219 | 107 |
| Nicaragua | 2.295 | -0.151 | 113 |
| Guatemala | 2.332 | 0.037 | 117 |
| Honduras | 2.415 | -0.026 | 123 |
El Salvador led Central America with the most significant score improvement of -0.219, followed by Nicaragua with -0.151. In contrast, Costa Rica and Panama saw the largest score decline, with 0.065 and 0.040, respectively.
SEE ALSO: Living in El Salvador: Top Reasons for Moving to El Salvador
