Report/ Kosovo has the lowest peace and economic index in the region, Albania is deteriorating

Kosovo has dropped three places in the Global Peace Index, conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Iceland tops the list of countries, while Kosovo ranks 63rd. Albania is 52nd, but also with a drop of 6 places, Serbia ranks one position worse than Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 59th, Montenegro 34th, North Macedonia 51st, Croatia 19th.

The Institute for Peace and Economics has published the Global Peace Index 2025, a detailed report for all countries in the world, including Kosovo and Albania. This report presents a comprehensive, data-based analysis of trends in peace, its economic value, and the development of peaceful societies.

For this report, 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators were used to measure the state of peace in three areas: the level of social security, the degree of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization.

In the overall ranking, Kosovo has marked a deterioration of 3 places, ranking in 63rd position and is located in the middle of the table along with Serbia, Zambia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Cyprus, Senegal, Liberia, Jordan, Tanzania, Malawi, France, Paraguay, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Bolivia.

In the section on ongoing internal and international conflict, Kosovo was scored with 1,805 points. In terms of social security and internal security, Kosovo was scored with 2,144 points. In terms of militarization, Kosovo received 1.67 points.

In another report by the same organization measuring the impact of terrorism, Kosovo is ranked among the least affected countries, rising 13 positions. Albania is ranked 52nd, but with a deterioration of 6 points compared to the previous report.

Albania performs better in the following indicators:

-Internal and international conflicts: Albania has not been involved in wars or armed conflicts, neither within the country nor abroad.

-Crime and terrorism: The level of serious crime and the lack of terrorism keep the country on a quiet profile.

– Militarization: Military spending is among the lowest in the region as a percentage of GDP.

The indicators where Albania ranks weakest are:

– Political stability: High polarization, protests, and divisive rhetoric negatively impact the stability indicator.

– Perception of public safety: Although statistics are positive, citizens' perception of safety in urban environments is weaker.

– Institutional functioning: Low capacity for crisis management or emergency response is cited as a shortcoming.

In the Western Balkans region, Serbia has also dropped one position, ranking behind Kosovo in 64th place, while Montenegro is the country that has made the greatest progress in the Western Balkans region.

“Montenegro marked the largest improvement in the region, with its overall score improving by 2.3 percent over the past year. This was driven mainly by an improvement in the Security and Protection area, as the homicide rate indicator and the political terror rate indicator improved by 69.7 and 25 percent, respectively. The homicide rate is 0.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, a record low for Montenegro. In October 2024, a regional initiative to reduce illicit weapons possession – the Roadmap for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans – was approved for a second phase following the success of the original Roadmap for the Control of SALW in the Western Balkans, which was adopted in 2018 and set targets to be achieved by 2024,” the IEP report states.

In the 2024 report, Kosovo had progressed by three places and was ranked in 56th position. The ranking is led by Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria. At the bottom of the list are Ukraine and Russia./ Monitor