Myanmar records worst decline in global peace foundations since 2020, new index shows

Mizzima

Myanmar suffered the steepest deterioration in the conditions that sustain peace of any country in the world between 2020 and 2024, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Positive Peace Report released in September 2026.

The country’s score on the Positive Peace Index, which measures governance, information, human capital and other structural foundations of peace across 163 countries, worsened by 10.5 per cent over the four-year period, the report found. Myanmar fell 25 places to rank 152nd, ahead of only 11 countries including Somalia, South Sudan and Afghanistan.

The decline accelerated after the military seized power in February 2021, triggering armed conflict between junta forces and resistance groups that has displaced an estimated 3.5 million people and contracted the national economy, the report noted.

All eight pillars measured by the index deteriorated. The sharpest collapse was in the quality of public information, which worsened by 90.4 per cent the single largest indicator decline recorded for any country in the index during the period. Press freedom deteriorated by 46.5 per cent, while government openness and transparency and equality of opportunity each worsened by 25 per cent.

Over the full decade from 2015 to 2024, Myanmar’s score deteriorated by 4.8 per cent, making it the only country in the Asia-Pacific region to record a decline. The region’s 17 other measured countries all improved, with Thailand posting the strongest gain at 7.5 per cent.

The Positive Peace framework identifies the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. Countries ranking lower on the index tend to experience weaker economies, poorer health outcomes and greater vulnerability to shocks, the report found.

The report also found that globally, press freedom deteriorated in 141 of 163 countries over the past decade, with the sharpest declines occurring after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Myanmar’s press freedom collapse was among the most severe worldwide.