Civil unrest has doubled worldwide in a decade, says Global Peace Index

Humanity ‘at critical juncture’ as coronavirus pandemic threatens to ‘exacerbate humanitarian crises and aggravate and encourage disorder’

Chilean riot police stand guard during a protest to demand government aid during the Covid-19 pandemic (Getty Images)

Civil unrest has doubled worldwide in the past decade as protests rage over economic hardship, political turmoil and police brutality, according to a global peace index.

Tensions are likely to increase further in the coming months and years as the coronavirus pandemic pushes more people into unemployment and widens inequality, warned the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which publishes the report annually.

The 2020 Global Peace Index recorded violent protest in 58 per cent of countries last year, an increase which researchers noted “reflects a longer-term trend”.