Among the 162 nations surveyed, Bangladesh is more peaceful than India, Pakistan and even the United States, according to the 2015 Global Peace Index (GPI).
Bangladesh secures 84th position this year. It ranked 98th last year.
The US ranks 94th, India 143th and Pakistan 154th in the 2015 report conducted by Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace released the index this week.
The GPI ranks 162 nations around the globe based on factors like the level of violent crime, involvement in conflicts and the degree of militarisation.
In South Asia, Bhutan is the most peaceful country followed by Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Iceland – the thinly populated island in the midst of the North Atlantic – has retained its place as the most peaceful country in the world, followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland.
“Europe maintained its position as the most peaceful region in the world, supported by a lack of domestic and external conflicts,” the report said.
War-ravaged Syria remained at the bottom of the rankings. Iraq, the other country where the Islamic militant group ISIS holds large areas of territory, dropped below South Sudan and Afghanistan to second last place.
The US is in the bottom half of the index, scoring badly in terms of militarisation, homicides and fear of violence. Its ranking improved somewhat from a year earlier, though, rising from 101st place to 94th.