United States Peace Index: Maine Most Peaceful, Louisiana Least Peaceful State in the Nation [View All]

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WASHINGTON, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --



Maine is the most peaceful U.S. state, while Louisiana is the least peaceful, based on results from the U.S. Peace Index (USPI), the first-ever ranking of the states on their levels of peace. The USPI will be released today in Washington, D.C.

The USPI, created by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an international think tank responsible for the annual Global Peace Index, revealed that peace in the United States improved by 8 percent from 1995 to 2009. This improvement was driven by a substantial decrease in rates of homicide and violent crime.

"I congratulate IEP on a meticulous, judicious and intriguing study of a vitally important topic," said James K. Galbraith, Chair, Economists for Peace and Security, a UN-registered NGO, with an international network of thirteen affiliated organizations that promote economic analysis and appropriate action for peace, security and the world economy.

The Index, which defines peace as "the absence of violence," looks at a set of five indicators, including homicide rates, violent crimes, percentage of the population in jail, number of police officers and availability of small arms (per 100,000 people) to rank the states. The data used to construct the Index is drawn from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Centers for Disease Control.

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