Iceland is a country that falls within the continent of Europe, located midway between North America and mainland Europe. It lies just below the Arctic Circle between 64 and 66 degrees north. The capital is Reykjavik. It is the northernmost capital in the world and is located exactly halfway between New York and Moscow. With a population of 3.84 lakhs of which 91.1% are Icelandic citizens and the rest 15.7% are foreign-born. The share by percentage of nationalities residing in Iceland in 2014 are :
Icelandic (93.0%), Polish (3.1%), Lithuanian (0.5%), Danish (0.3%), German (0.3%), Latvian (0.2%), British (0.2%), American (0.2%), Filipino (0.2%) and Thai (0.2%). Tthis indicates the level of diversity in Iceland. With this level of diversity how is peace maintained by the government? In the contemporary world, even though there are many diverse countries who claim to be unified but in reality they really aren’t. The majority suppresses the minorities, outsiders are tortured, humiliated despite being the ones always on the front line when the country faces danger.
The case of Iceland is different. They have always achieved great success in the maintenance of peace. For the 13th year in a row, Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2020 Global Peace Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Since the inception of the index in 2008, Iceland has consistently ranked first.
As per a recent report, “not a single deterioration was recorded in Iceland’s peacefulness over the last year. 78% of Iceland’s indicators showed no change, and 22% improved. The falling homicide rate, the increase in funding to UN peacekeeping, and the decrease in the number of external conflicts are the most significant improvements over the last year.”
Reasons Why Iceland Is The Most Peaceful Country
The first and foremost thing is equality. As stated in Art. 65 of the Constitution of Iceland everyone shall be equal before the law and enjoy basic human rights irrespective of gender, religion, opinions, national origin, race, colour, property, birth, or other status. The same Article states, further, that men and women shall enjoy equal rights in all respects. So this is not only fixed in its constitution but is carried out in action on the ground.
As per a report from The Guardian , within four years, from January 2018, any public or private body in Iceland employing more than 25 people that has not been independently certified as paying equal wages for work of equal value will face daily fines. In the matter of gender equality as of 2018, 88% of working-age women were employed, 65% of students attending university were female, and 41% of members of parliament were women. Elections are free and fair, there is no state violence and human rights groups are allowed to operate without restriction. Religious freedom is guaranteed, and discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or other factors is illegal. So you people will find equality in every aspect on ground, not just in books.
It is pertinent to mention that Icelandic society is the most tolerant and inclusive worldwide. The crimes against minorities are the lowest. So we can say that the people there are well behaved and cooperative. The Guardian in 2006 reported that Icelanders are the happiest people on earth. Contrary to this, we have big countries where people are undisciplined, uncivilized and unhappy.
There are no Icelandic military forces, and never have been neither army, navy nor air force. There is, on the other hand, a police force on land and on sea, the State Police, the Coast Guard, and the Customs. Moreover, it is said it’s the only country in Nato with no armed forces (they were banned 700 years ago). So making it a more peaceful place for the masses to live in without any fear. Also, it is the safest country in the world. Global Finance Magazine ranked the island the ‘World’s Safest Country for 2019‘. Iceland grabbed the outlet’s top spot due to its low crime rate and low per capita murder rate. Anybody can walk up to the President’s Home, making him accountable to the people.
Moreover everyone is included in the Icelandic phonebook, from big politicians and celebrities to the common people, everyone’s personal number and home address is there. Hence it is easy for the people to look for their politicians to address and share their grievances. How peaceful it would be without protests, violent clashes, riots, ‘Lathi charges’, where you just go to his/her home directly.
Last but not the least, one of the most special things about Iceland is its nature. Its nature is simply lovely, it has every thing from volcanoes to geysers. People take great concern in its cleanliness.
These were some of the factors that make Iceland a peaceful and safes place indeed. Other countries can learn a lot from Iceland. How to maintain peace, how to deal with people etc. What actually makes people of Iceland the happiest in the world though? Because they know how to deal with a situation in a peaceful manner. In a nutshell, Iceland is the Model of Peace for the rest.