KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The economic impact of violence on Malaysia last year was US$36 billion (RM154 billion), or at US$1,154 (RM4,940) for each citizen, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) 2017 report released yesterday.

The impact made up 4.4 per cent of the country’s total 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.

In the index, Malaysia retained its spot as 29th most peaceful country in the world overall, and the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region after New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Singapore.

Malaysia’s best achievement was ranked as the 10th most peaceful countries when it comes to militarisation, which among others measures amount of economic resources committed to the military.

In comparison, neighbours Singapore was ranked the 21st most peaceful, followed by Laos (45), Indonesia (52), Cambodia (89), Myanmar (104), Thailand (120), and the Philippines (138).

This comes as the GPI 2017 showed that the world has become slightly more peaceful this year compared to 2016, with 93 countries becoming more peaceful compared to 68 that deteriorated.

Despite that, world peace has declined in the last decade, driven by violence in the Middle East and North Africa that saw deaths from battles and terrorism, and increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons.

Malaysia was also listed among the 25 countries that fell into conflict between 2008 and 2017, where deaths from battles had increased beyond 25 cases.

Its author Sydney-based think tank Institute for Economics and Peace defined the economic impact of violence as costs attributed to a specific form of violence, both directly and indirectly.

"Examples of direct costs include medical costs for victims of violent crime, capital destruction from violence and costs associated with security and judicial systems,” the report said.

"Indirect costs include lost wages or productivity from crime due to physical and emotional trauma. There is also a measure of the impact of fear on the economy, as people who fear that they may become a victim of violent crime alter their behaviour.”

The total cost of violence globally last year was US$14.3 trillion, or 12.6 per cent of the world’s GDP, the institute said.