Norway tops peaceful nation list

Check out this article about an Economist magazine study on peaceful nations:

World's most peaceful
The Intelligence Unit of the Economist magazine has named Norway the most peaceful country in the world.The survey of 121 nations is backed by high profile names such as the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter.

New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland and Japan occupy the spots just back Norway. Lowest in the survey are Nigeria, Russia, Israel, Sudan and Iraq. The USA is remarkably low on the Global Peace Index, at 96th.

An assessment of 24 different factors is behind the rating list, from the number of killings per capita, number of weapons, military spending, to the amount of organized crime and violent crime.

On the basis of their study, researchers reached the following conclusions; small, stable democracies that are part of a larger regional group, such as the European Union, score well; and economic living standards, education levels and regional integration are important.

Well, at least we made it into the top 100. And at the current nation count of 194, that puts us smack dab in the middle, which makes us the perfect balance between Norway's idyllic safety and benevolence and Nigeria's... well, whatever they're doing to make the bottom of the list. I'd probably know, too, if the U.S. media weren't so fixated on whether or not Paris Hilton is going to jail.