Conflicts cost 13 percent of global GDP in 2014

The cost of violence around the world reached a record $14.3 trillion, or 13.4 percent of global GDP in 2014, equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to a report released Wednesday by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

The divide between the most and least peaceful regions continued with many Middle Eastern and African countries — Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Israel and Lebanon, for example — sinking further into violence. Europe, meanwhile, continued to maintain its position as the "most peaceful region in the world" as it experiences "historic levels of peace with homicide rates falling," according to IEP.

“Reducing conflict is a crucial plank in ensuring continued world economic recovery. If global violence were to decrease by 10 percent uniformly, an additional $1.43 trillion would effectively be added to the world economy," Steve Killelea, IEP’s founder, said in a statement.

Syria ranked as the least peaceful country in the 2015 Global Peace Index, while Libya saw the most severe deterioration, falling to 149th on the list of 162 countries. Ukraine saw the second largest fall after suffering over 6,000 deaths in its conflict with Russia-backed rebels. Iceland remained the most peaceful. The study also showed that Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Benin have taken the biggest steps toward peace.

Meanwhile, the cost of supporting refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) has increased by 267 percent since 2008 to $128 billion in 2014 as the numbers of uprooted people topped 50 million — the highest level since World War II, according to IEP. 

“The (cost of violence) has been largely associated with the increase of deaths in conflict, the ongoing economic consequences of conflicts in the countries where they're occurring and also the increased cost associated with the displaced people,” Killelea told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

However, expenses related to the military, police forces and homicides have had the highest impact on costs, accounting for more than 68 percent of the total, said the study.

Europe continues to experience historic levels of peace, with its decrease in homicide rates and the withdrawal of forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. But Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan and Central African Republic have all become more violent than a year ago, according to the index.

The intensity of conflict has increased dramatically, said the study, with the number of people killed rising to 180,000 in 2014 from 49,000 in 2010.

The Middle East and Northern Africa are the world's most violent regions, overtaking South Asia, which ranked worst in last year's study.

“With the changing dynamics within the region it's very hard to know what the solutions are and to make predictions for the next year,” said Killelea.

Al Jazeera and Reuters