A catalogue of failed states

Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, East Timor. Four states currently in the headlines the most worrying thing about which -- apart from that each has a Western presence which may continue for years -- is that they may be joined by other countries jolted into collapse by any unpredictable crisis. A huge natural disaster, epidemic or internal conflict could precipitate many of the countries referred to as 'failed states' into complete collapse. For two successive years (2005, 2006) Foreign Policy has listed the 'most failed' states based on twelve indicators which attempt to measure the degree to which each has broken down. The 28 worst states in the 2006 list is shown below.

1 Sudan
2 DRCongo
3 Cote d'Ivoire
4 Iraq
5 Zimbabwe
6 Chad
7 Somalia
8 Haiti
9 Pakistan
10 Afghanistan
11 Guinea
12 Liberia
13 Central African Republic
14 North Korea
15 Burundi
16 Yemen
17 Sierra Leone
18 Burma/Myanmar
19 Bangladesh
20 Nepal
21 Uganda
22 Nigeria
23 Uzbekistan
24 Rwanda
25 Sri Lanka
26 Ethiopia
27 Colombia
28 Kyrgyzstan

The Belmont Club: The Sad State of the World