By: Staff Writer
July 3, 2026
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are the only English speaking countries in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) ranked in the 2026 Global Peace Index (GPI), placing third and fourth, respectively.
Canada was ranked number one with Costa Rica ranked in the second spot.
The GPI noted: “North and Central America recorded a significant deterioration in peacefulness on the 2026 GPI, with the average overall score deteriorating by two per cent. Ten of the 14 countries in the region deteriorated in peacefulness over the past year, with only four countries recording improvements.
“The deterioration was driven primarily by the Ongoing Conflict domain, which recorded the largest change at 5.5 per cent, while the Safety and Security domain also deteriorated.
“The Militarisation domain was the only domain to improve at the regional level. There is a considerable disparity in peacefulness across the region, with Canada ranked 14th globally and Haiti ranked 142nd.”
The report continued: “Haiti remains the least peaceful country in the region and is ranked 142nd globally on the 2026 GPI, with its overall score deteriorating by three per cent over the past year.
“Haiti deteriorated across all three GPI domains, with the Ongoing Conflict domain recording the largest deterioration at 5.5 per cent, followed by the Militarisation domain at 2.8 per cent and Safety and Security at 1.5 per cent.
“The intensity of internal conflict indicator deteriorated by 12.5 per cent, while deaths from internal conflict increased by 3.7 per cent.
“Haiti’s crisis deepened significantly over the past year, with armed gangs allied under the ‘Viv Ansanm’ coalition consolidating control over much of the capital and expanding into three of the country’s ten departments.
“Between March 2025 and January 2026, over 5,500 people were killed and 2,500 were injured, while more than 1.45 million people were internally displaced. In October 2025, the United Nations authorised a new gang suppression force of up to 5,550 personnel to address the escalating security crisis.”
The report also said: “The Dominican Republic recorded the largest deterioration in the region, with its overall score deteriorating by 4.7 per cent on the 2026 GPI.
“The deterioration was driven largely by the Ongoing Conflict domain, which deteriorated by 19.5 per cent, with 40 violent conflict deaths recorded in 2025, most related to organised criminal activity.
“However, although violent conflict has increased over the past year, over the longer run there has been a significant fall in violent deaths, with the homicide rate more than halving over the past decade.”