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Yemen has been ranked the least peaceful country in the world for the first time because of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The 2024 Global Peace Index (GPI), published on Monday by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) think tank, reveals the Houthis' missile and drone assaults on ships linked to Israel using maritime routes through the Red Sea has intensified instability in the region.
Meanwhile, the UAE has made the biggest rise towards the definition of peace of any nation in this year’s GPI, moving 31 places thanks to its diplomatic relations with its neighbours and substantial increase in UN peacekeeping funding.
It is now ranked 53rd out of 163 countries.
“The primary driver of the improvement in peacefulness was a move towards better neighbouring countries relations,” it says.
“The UAE improved its diplomatic relations and commercial ties with Iran and Turkey and has strengthened diplomatic relations more broadly across the region and into South Asia.”
The report indicated the conflict in Gaza could spread to involve Yemen and other countries, Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the IEP, told The National.
He said the world was at a crossroads and without concerted effort, there is a risk of a surge in major conflicts.
“What is most concerning is if the Gaza conflict spreads into the region then it could engulf countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and possibly Jordan and that would have a substantial impact on the region, and from there could propagate further on,” he said.
“What truly strikes me is that the world is at a confliction point and without concerted effort it could get much worse. For example, there are more countries in conflicts than at any stage since the Second World War, 56 countries. We have seen that 97 countries have deteriorated on the GPI, the most since its inception in 2008.”
Yemen has replaced Afghanistan as the world's least peaceful country. It is followed by Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
This is the first year Yemen has been in the number one position, with the country having moved up 24 places since 2008.
“Peacefulness in Yemen fell over the past year, owing to deteriorations on the violent demonstrations, political instability and neighbouring countries relations indicators,” the GPI report said.
“Yemen's internal political instability has worsened in the past year due to deteriorating living conditions and rising social unrest. The internal strife in Yemen has been further exacerbated by regional tensions stemming from the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“The Houthis' missile and drone assaults against Israeli targets intensified instability in the region by threatening critical maritime routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
“In response to these attacks the US and UK have intensified their military involvement in Yemen by launching missile, drone and air strikes against the group's sites in northern Yemen since January 2024. This escalation represents a significant externalisation of Yemen's civil conflict.”
The report shows there were 160,000 conflict deaths this year, the second highest since the Rwanda genocide in 1994, and three quarters have come from Ukraine and Gaza.
“We are finding that conflicts are becoming more internationalised, with more countries becoming involved. There are 92 involved in conflicts beyond their borders. This also makes conflicts harder to solve,” Mr Killelea told The National.
“It’s been 80 years since the end of the Second World War and the current crises underscore the urgency for world leaders to commit to investing in resolving these conflicts.”
Mr Killelea said with conflicts getting worse, refugee numbers would continue to rise and affect the global economy.
“I think what is needed is for governments to try to proactively solve many of the smaller conflicts before they erupt into bigger conflicts,” he said.
“As an offshoot we can see the number of refugees are climbing. They are now up 110 million. We now have 16 countries hosting more than half a million refugees each.
“Along with this comes an economic impact. As conflicts flow further, there will be further flows of refugees which will impact a whole range of other countries. There will be lot more refugees in the Middle East.”
The global economic impact of violence increased to $19.1 trillion last year, representing 13.5 per cent of worldwide GDP.
The report warns a further broadening of the conflict would severely impact the global economy, potentially triggering a global recession.
Iceland remains the most peaceful country, a position it has held since 2008, followed by Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, and Singapore – a new entrant in the top five.
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Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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