title: Can the health of a nation be correlated to its state of internal peace?
abstract: The Institute for Economics and Peace has ranked 162 territories within the United Nations according to how they score on a scale of 1.0 (most peaceful) to 5.0 (least peaceful) in a 'Global Peace Index' (GPI). The GPI 2015 values range from 1.148 (Iceland) to 3.645 (Syria). In this pilot study, we report significant correlations (Spearman rank coefficients) between each country's GPI and indicators of the health of its citizens (life expectancies, death rates and health expenditures): these significances are marginally enhanced when Sub-Saharan African countries are excluded. Our findings may indicate avenues for promoting a healthy global society, but more detailed and comprehensive analyses should be conducted in order for the factors behind the correlations to be identified and applied with more certainty.
authors.affiliation: a Medact, Grayston Centre , London , UK.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boulton
authors.affiliation: b Peace Direct , London , UK.
authors.forename: Nathanael
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Louise
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000068337:Armed Conflicts; D001208:Asia; D003415:Crime; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013020:South America; D014481:United States
keywords: Global peace index; Spearman rank correlation; World Bank; World Health Organization; health indicators