The United States Peace Index (USPI) is a measurement of American States and cities by their peacefulness. Created by the

Institute for Economics and Peace The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is a global think tank headquartered in Sydney, Australia with branches in New York City, Mexico City and Oxford. IEP studies the relationship between peace, business, and prosperity, and seeks to pro ...

, the creators of the

Global Peace Index Global Peace Index (GPI) is a report produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) which measures the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. The GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories (collectively accounting ...

, it is said to be the first in a series of National sub-divisions by their peacefulness. The USPI was created first due to plentiful data and a large amount of diversity between states for level of peace. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

ranked 88/158 on the Global Peace index for 2012. The U.S. index was released on 6 April 2011 and the second edition was released on 24 April 2012.

Indicators

There are five peace indicators that make up the USPI. The scores for number of homicides per 100,000 people, number of violent crimes per 100,000 people, jailed population per 100,000 people, police officers per 100,000 people, and ease of access to small arms are weighted and combined to form a state's score.

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

scored as the most peaceful state both years.

Changes in peacefulness

The index also includes a map and list for changes in peacefulness from 1991–2009. States are scored in this section by percent, either positive or negative. As a nation, it says that the United States has improved in peacefulness since 1991.

Metro areas

The index also provides statistical analysis and crime, and the cost of crime, in the 61 most populous metropolitan areas. The Cambridge metro area in Massachusetts ranked as the most peaceful and the Detroit metro area as the least.

Lists

External links

Interactive US Peace Index Map

Vision of Humanity - Global Peace Index Site

Interactive world map of the Global Peace Index

Institute for Economics and Peace

Uppsala Conflict Data Program, an organized violence database

References