Peace and security

Extent to which Canada is protected from internal and external threats to its people, institutions and sovereignty, including risks related to conflict, terrorism and cyber threats.

Peace and security are measured using three internationally recognized composite indices that capture complementary dimensions of national and global security: the Global Peace Index, the National Cyber Security Index, and the Global Terrorism Index.

Together, these indices provide a multidimensional view of security conditions, with a primary focus on national security and resilience and secondary focus on international peace and stability.

Global Peace Index (GPI)

The Global Peace Index ranks more than 160 countries according to their relative level of peacefulness. The index is based on 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators organized into three domains:

• ongoing domestic and international conflict (e.g., internal conflicts, external conflicts, intensity of conflict)
• societal safety and security (e.g., homicide rates, violent crime, political instability, perceptions of criminality)
• militarization (e.g., military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, armed services personnel, weapons imports and exports).

Data are drawn from international sources and conflict datasets, as well as expert assessments. Indicators are standardized, weighted and aggregated to produce an overall score, with lower scores indicating higher levels of peacefulness. The GPI provides a broad measure of both internal stability and a country's exposure to, or involvement in, international conflict.

National Cyber Security Index (NCSI)

The National Cyber Security Index ranks over 100 countries in terms of their preparedness to prevent cyber threats and manage cyber incidents. The index focuses on national-level governance and capacity.

The NCSI covers the following:

• legislation (e.g., acts, regulations)
• established units (e.g., existing organizations, departments)
• cooperation formats (e.g., committees, working groups)
• outcomes (e.g., policies, technologies, websites).

The index monitors country-level performance across 49 indicators related to 12 cybersecurity capacities, under the following pillars:

• strategic capacities (e.g., cybersecurity governance and policy, as well as global engagement, education, and innovation)
• preventive capacities (e.g., secure digital infrastructure and cyber threat analysis)
• responsive capacities (e.g., managing cyber incidents and responding to cyber threats).

NCSI scores are based on publicly available evidence, including legislation, official documents, and official websites. Each indicator is scored according to the existence and implementation of relevant measures, and results are aggregated into a total score expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible points. Higher scores indicate stronger institutional preparedness and resilience to cyber risks.

Global Terrorism Index (GTI)

The Global Terrorism Index provides insights into global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2007. The index ranks 163 countries based on the following four indicators weighted over five years:

• total number of terrorist incidents in a given year
• total number of fatalities caused by terrorists in a given year
• total number of injuries caused by terrorists in a given year
• total number of hostages caused by terrorists in a given year.

The GTI uses data from a recognized terrorism tracker database, which contains detailed and structured event records of every terrorist incident reported in open sources since January 2007.

Five-year weighted averages are used to capture both the immediate and residual effects of terrorist attacks. Each country's score incorporates data from the current year and the previous four years, with progressively lower weights applied to earlier years. This approach reflects the continuing psychological and societal impacts of terrorism while allowing their influence to diminish over time. The weighted components are aggregated into a composite score, where higher values indicate a greater overall impact of terrorism.

Peace and security are foundational to economic stability, democratic governance, sovereignty, and overall well-being. A secure national environment supports public confidence, investment and social cohesion, while resilience to cyber threats and terrorism protects critical infrastructure and public safety. Monitoring peace and security also provides insight into Canada's position within the global security landscape and its contribution to international stability.

• Global Peace Index
• National Cyber Security Index
• Global Terrorism Index

The Fragile States Index is an index that was developed to assess the vulnerability of states to collapse. The index covers a range of social, economic, and political indicators. While this index relates to peace and security, it is multidimensional and reflects other subdomains and indicators of the Quality of Life Framework (e.g., social cohesion, confidence in institutions).