Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The Cost of War

Conflicts around the world cost $14.3tn (£9.1tn) last year, 13% of world GDP, says a survey on global peace. That amount is equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said. 

If the world decreased in violence by 10%, it would generate £1.43tn, says the IEP. This amount is equivalent to:
Six times the total value of Greece's bailout
Ten times the total official development assistance from rich to poor countries
Three times the total earnings of the 1.1 billion people living in extreme poverty under $1.25 a day


Conflict killed 180,000 people in 2014, compared with 49,000 in 2010. Deaths caused by terrorism increased by 61% in 2013, the report said, with the loss of almost 18,000 lives - mostly in just five countries, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

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