The report also placed Malaysia as fifth most peaceful in the Asia-Pacific region. New Zealand took first place, Japan came in second, Australia was third and Singapore, fourth.
According to the survey, the economic impact of violence on Malaysia last year was US$36 billion (RM154 billion), or US$1,154 (RM4,940) for each citizen.
This impacted 4.4% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), placing Malaysia within the bottom 30 among 163 countries when it comes to the cost of violence as a percentage of the GDP.
Meanwhile, Malaysia was placed 10th most peaceful when it comes to militarisation, outperforming neighbours Singapore (21st), Laos (45th), Indonesia (52nd), Cambodia (89th), Myanmar (104th), Thailand (120th) and Philippines (138th).
Malaysia, however, was also listed among 25 countries that fell into conflict between 2008 and 2017, where deaths from battles had increased beyond 25 cases.