Somalia Is the Least Stable Country in the World

Jun 22, 2010
The Jabuti Refugee Camp is only one expression of Somalia&39;s instability. (Photo: Omar Faruk/Reuters)

Foreign Policy and The Fund for Peace have released their annual Failed State Index, a report ranking countries from least to most stable.

Based on categories such as human rights, refugees, and economic decline, Somalia ranks as the least stable country in the world.

Reported by Foreign Policy, "At the top of the list, Somalia saw yet another year plagued by lawlessness and chaos, with pirates plying the coast while radical Islamist militias tightened their grip on the streets of Mogadishu."

African countries Chad, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are close behind. Norway ranks as the most stable country.Narcotics trafficking crises in Guatemala and Honduras and political unrest in Iran and Nigeria are pushing those countries down the ladder of stability.

However, the report indicates that some countries have become less vulnerable to lawlessness and anarchy: "Given time and the right circumstances, countries do recover. Sierra Leone and Liberia, for instance, no longer rank among the top 20 failing states, and Colombia has become a stunning success story."

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