Botswana has slipped two places in the 2025 Global Peace Index, ranking 43rd out of 163 countries, according to data released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). The Index, which evaluates 163 countries across three domains: Ongoing Conflict, Societal Safety and Security, and Militarisation; found that 87 countries became less peaceful this year. Botswana’s marginal decline, analysts say, reflects rising defence expenditures and the geopolitical tremors emanating from conflicts as distant as Ukraine and Gaza.
Botswana’s score deteriorated slightly amid rising regional insecurity and a global uptick in militarisation. While Botswana’s domestic safety indicators remain strong, its neighbourhood tells another story. Escalating violence in the Great Lakes region, extremist attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado, and coups across West Africa have all contributed to a continent under siege.
In 2024, the Peace Index estimated the economic impact of violence in Botswana at P88,270,842,360 ($6,584,334,726). This represents a modest decrease of P236, 881, 183 ($17, 669, 538) from the 2023 figure of P88, 507, 723, 543 ($6,602,004,264). Sub-Saharan Africa saw peace levels decline in more than half its countries, driven by intensifying conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel.
The southern African nation’s overall peace score of 1.743 places it just behind Taiwan and ahead of Timor-Leste — a reminder that small nations with democratic stability can still be affected by broader continental dynamics.
Across the region, deteriorations were recorded in 23 of 44 countries, largely due to higher military spending, internal displacement, and ongoing cross-border conflicts. The report warns that such pressures could “strain domestic governance and erode the structural underpinnings of peace” if left unchecked.
