More than US$14 trillion ($20.4 trillion) was spent on international conflicts in the past year, according to a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, which found that Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan were responsible for a surge in war deaths.
The spending represents 13 per cent of global GDP and is roughly the combined value of the economies of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Spain and Brazil.
Steve Killelea, IEP chief executive, said reducing conflict was one way to help the world's economic recovery. "If global violence were to decrease by 10 per cent uniformly, an additional US$1.43 trillion would effectively be added to the world economy," he said.
Published annually since 2008, the Global Peace Index rated Syria as the most dangerous country followed by Iraq and Afghanistan. Libya recorded the biggest deterioration falling 13 places to 149th while Ukraine recorded the second largest fall.
Iceland and Denmark were recorded as the world's most peaceful nations. New Zealand ranked fourth after Austria while Australia was ninth.
