The Global Peace Index (GPI) has published its 2019 results, and after climbing two places, Portugal is officially the third most peaceful country in the world. The first and second places have gone to Iceland and New Zealand.


The report assesses one hundred and sixty three independent states and territories, ranking them based on their levels of ‘Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation’.


The Observador quoted Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, as saying that the findings of the report ‘are very important, first of all for the Portuguese people, but also for the image of the country’.


Moreover, Portugal has been elected as the fifth most ‘family friendly’ country in the world.


The UNICEF study, assessing thirty one ‘rich countries with available data’, ranks nations based on factors such as the duration of parental leave at full pay equivalent, and childcare services for children aged between 0-6 years old.


The report comes under the auspices of UNICEF’s efforts at shedding light on early childhood environments, which its Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, claims to be ‘critical to children’s brain development – and therefore their futures´.


The report concludes with some suggestions on how countries can improve their family-friendly policies, of which parental leave, accessible childcare, and extensive data collection and monitoring are an essential part of.