Chillin’ Iceland the most peaceful, Dom. Rep. lags far behind

Santo Domingo.- You want love and peace? Head to the ice…land that is, the chillin’ nation has just been tapped the most peaceful country on the planet for the second straight year, by the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI).

But tropical Dominican Republic doesn’t rate even close, ranked 90th among the 158 nations rated by the GPI, remaining relatively stagnant at 92 of 153 countries in 2011, and 81 of 148 in 2010.

New Zealand and Denmark tied for second place, Canada came in fourth and Japan fifth, with the United States ranked No. 88 of the 158 in the Index, with Somalia dubbed the "least peaceful" at 155 with Iraq 156, Sudan and Afghanistan’s 157.

The figures are an annual attempt by the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace to examine more than 20 criteria — including access to weapons, jailed population and violent crime figures in each country — to create a global peace map.