North Korea ranked first in the world in terms of military spending compared to its gross domestic product(GDP).

According to this year's Global Peace Index(GPI) report by the Institute for Economics and Peace(IEP) on Friday, North Korea's military expenditure accounted for 24 percent of its GDP. 

The figure is much larger than 13-point-five percent of second-place Lebanon. 

The GPI is produced by measuring three categories: societal safety and security; ongoing domestic and international conflict; and militarization.

In the overall index ranking countries from the most to least peaceful, North Korea ranked 151 out of 163 countries this year, unchanged from last year. Afghanistan was the least peaceful country for the fourth consecutive year. 

South Korea slipped nine notches from a year earlier to 57th due to increases in both military spending and imports and exports of arms.