The Czech Republic ranks among the world's top 10 safest countries

"The Czech Republic is one of the top ten safest countries in the world!" the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs proudly stated in a widely-shared tweet this holiday weekend. "And in-between Ireland and Canada."

The ministry did not cite their sources, but the ranking appears to come from the most recent Global Peace Index, dated June 2021. In the Index, the Czech Republic indeed comes in at number nine, in-between Ireland at eight and Canada at ten.

Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the Global Peace Index has been ranking countries based on perceived safety since 2009. It uses 23 individual indicators across three major areas: a country's level of societal safety and security, its extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and its degree of militarization.

Since the report began more than a decade ago, the Czech Republic has consistently ranked within or close to the top ten most peaceful countries in the world, and never less than fifteen. Over the past ten years, the country reached a high of six in the 2012 rankings and a low of thirteen in 2018.

The Global Peace Index can be referenced by individuals on matters related to travel, relocation, or investment, but on a larger scale it also helps world organizations identify areas for potential peace-keeping intervention. It has been endorsed by figures such as the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In the 2021 Global Peace Index, Iceland was rated as the world's most peaceful country, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia in the top 5. Austria and Switzerland came in ahead of Ireland, Czechia, and Canada to round out the top 10.

At the other end of the scale, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan were ranked as the least peaceful countries. Ukraine ranked 143 on the 2021 Global Peace Index, while Russia came in at 154.

Of course, the 2021 Index does not factor in some recent developments, including the war in Ukraine and increasing tensions between the Czech Republic and Russia that began with some diplomatic expulsions last year.

Yesterday, the Czech Foreign Ministry revealed that Russia had sent a diplomatic letter warning the country against supplying Ukraine with weapons of Soviet origin. To date, the Czech Republic has been one of the largest suppliers of military aid to Ukraine during the war with Russia, and received personal thanks for the support from President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Czech Republic is not alone in its receipt of Russian threats. The United States has also been warned not to supply Ukraine with military aid, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Moscow had sent similar warnings to "all countries."

The latest Global Peace Index found that peace as a whole fell by 0.7 percent worldwide in 2021 compared to 2020. That downward trend is almost certain to continue this year, but whether the Czech Republic is affected to a greater degree than other countries remains to be seen.