This is a list of countries by order of appearance in the
Failed StatesThe term failed state is often used by political commentators and journalists to describe a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government...
Index of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
think-tankA think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
Fund For PeaceThe Fund for Peace is an independent Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research and educational institution. Founded in 1957, FfP, a non-governmental organization, "works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security.”...
. A failed
stateA sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
has several attributes. Common indicators include a state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; sharp economic decline. Since 2005, the index has been published annually by the Fund for Peace and the magazine
Foreign PolicyForeign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
.
Change in rank from 2010 is shown in parentheses and the three table headings correspond to those used by the Fund for Peace and
Foreign Policy magazine. This is the current list for 2011.
The report uses 12 factors to determine the rating for each nation including security threats, economic implosion,
human rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations and refugee flows.
Indicators of a failed state
12 factors are used by
Fund For PeaceThe Fund for Peace is an independent Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research and educational institution. Founded in 1957, FfP, a non-governmental organization, "works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security.”...
to ascertain the status of a country.
Social
- Mounting demographic pressures.
- Massive displacement of refugees, creating severe humanitarian emergencies
A humanitarian crisis is an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large group of people, usually over a wide area...
.
- Widespread vengeance-seeking group grievance.
- Chronic and sustained human flight
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
.
- Slum creation in poor areas.
Political
- Criminalization and/or delegitimization of the state.
- Deterioration of public services.
- Suspension or arbitrary application of law; widespread human rights abuses.
- Security apparatus operating as a "state within a state".
- Rise of factionalized elites.
- Intervention of external political agents.
Alert
Warning
Moderate
Sustainable
2010
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2009
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2008
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2007
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2006
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2005
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External links