Sudan, DRC ‘least peaceful economies in Africa'
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan are the least peaceful economies in Africa, highlighting how prolonged conflict undermines long-term economic stability.
This reflects a worsening business and investment climate in both countries over the years.
The 2025 Global Peace Index (GPI) ranks DRC and Sudan among the five worst-performing countries globally in terms of peace, alongside Russia, Ukraine, and Yemen – all of which are experiencing conflict.'The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) experienced the fourth largest deterioration in peacefulness on the 2025 GPI, dropping three places to rank 160th,' the report states.
Produced by the Australian non-profit think tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the report attributes the decline in peacefulness in Kinshasa to the ongoing conflict between government forces and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group.
Janjaweed coalitionIn Sudan, civil war broke out in April 2023 between two rival factions of the military government: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who also leads the broader Janjaweed coalition.
This has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced internally, while regional tensions have heightened despite international efforts to negotiate peace and stabilise the region.
The high number of armed conflicts in the DRC has severely affected several indicators under the Safety and Security domain – including the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), violent demonstrations, and the impact of terrorism – all of which worsened over the past year.
The Global Peace Index measures the state of peace in 163 countries, covering 99.7 percent of the world's population. It uses both qualitative and quantitative data across three domains: societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarisation.
In East Africa, Tanzania ranked as the most peaceful country, followed by Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uganda recorded the greatest improvement in peacefulness in the region, driven by positive changes across all three domains. Kampala's militarisation domain, in particular, improved by 11.7 percent – the most significant gain among the three indicators.
According to the report, Mauritius remains the most peaceful country in sub-Saharan Africa for the 18th consecutive year, despite a minor deterioration of 1.5 per cent in its overall peacefulness due to declines in militarisation and safety and security.'Mauritius is also the only country in sub-Saharan Africa that has not been involved in any internal or external conflicts over the past six years,' the report notes.
Landslide victoryIt adds: 'Mauritius' political stability improved in the past year following a smooth transition of power after the opposition's landslide victory. The peaceful handover reinforced democratic institutions, while steady economic growth and a strong tourism sector further supported stability.'Across sub-Saharan Africa, economic stress has manifested in various forms of internal conflict –including street protests and riots against austerity or price hikes, military coups fuelled by public frustration over economic performance, and in extreme cases, state failure and civil war.
The region recorded a 0.17 percent decline in peacefulness in the past year. While half of the countries improved in overall scores, the other half deteriorated.
Burkina Faso has the highest terrorism impact in the world, and six of the ten countries with the worst terrorism impact are in sub-Saharan Africa,' the report says.'While the militarisation and ongoing conflict domains deteriorated, the safety and security domain improved slightly over the past year.'Globally, the economic impact of violence amounted to $19.97 trillion in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms in 2024. This is equivalent to 11.6 percent of global GDP – or $2,455 per person. The total economic cost of violence rose by 3.8 percent over the past year.
© Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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