South Korea's peace index this year has gone up 11 steps in a global ranking compared to last year.

According to World Peace Forum, a Seoul-based private organization, South Korea's level of peace ranked 43rd out of 76 countries, up from last year's 54th-place finish.

The overall 2004 world peace index dropped somewhat compared to last year due to a number of factors, including the U.S.-led war in Iraq, global terrorism, and North Korea's nuclear crisis.

The country with the highest peace index was Sweden, followed by Denmark. Pakistan was ranked the lowest out of all the countries covered in the latest ranking.

Japan ranked 10th, the United Kingdom 41st and the United States 51st.