During the last half-decade, the Fund for Peace has been putting together the Failed States Index, using a battery of indicators that determine how stable (or unstable) a country is. As a result, we have taken the top 60, or should we say worst 60 Failed Countries of the World.
But as much as we admire the stats and numbers there is no better way but as the photos that demonstrate the degree of failure of a country. The best test is the simplest one, which is that you’ll only know a failed state when you see it.
And these photographs captured by the all seeing eye of the camera are, as they seem, true postcards from hell. As an example, we’ll make a rough start with country No.1: Somalia.
Hint: Click on image to see the larger version
1. SOMALIA
Somalia has topped the Failed States Index for the last three years — a testament not only to the depth of the country’s long-running political and humanitarian disaster, but also, to the international community’s inability to find an answer. After two decades of chaos, the country is today largely under the control of Islamist militant groups, the most notorious and powerful of which is al-Shabab. A second faction, Hizbul Islam, rivals the former in brutality — it recently executed two Somalis for the crime of watching the World Cup. Off the coast, pirates such as the men pictured here torment passing ships, often holding them hostage for a high price. In 2009, Somali pirates earned an estimated $89 million in ransom payments.
2. CHAD
Chad’s troubles are often written off as spillover from the conflict taking place in next-door Darfur, Sudan. But this central African country has plenty of problems of its own. An indigenous conflict has displaced approximately 200,000, and life under the paranoid rule of Chadian President Idriss Déby is increasingly miserable. Déby has arrested opposition figures and redirected humanitarian funding to the military in recent years. Matters might soon get worse as the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country’s east, where the bulk of the refugees reside, begins to depart on July 15. Pictured here, local Chadians in the village of Dankouche struggle to share scarce resources such as firewood with a nearby Sudanese refugee camp.
3. SUDAN
The next year will prove a decisive one for Sudan, perhaps more so than any other since the country’s independence in 1956. In January 2011, the people of South Sudan will vote in a referendum on whether they would prefer to remain an autonomous region — or secede as an independent state. All analysts predict it will be the latter, but they are equally certain that it won’t be so easy. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is likely to cling close to his control of the South, where much of the country’s oil riches lie. This is to say nothing of Darfur, where peacekeepers recently reported an uptick in v****nce with hundreds k***ed. In this scene, children crowd around a U.N. helicopter in the South Sudanese town of Akobo.
4. ZIMBABWE
5. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
6. AFGHANISTAN
7. IRAQ
8. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
9. GUINEA
10. PAKISTAN
11. HAITI
12. IVORY COAST
13. KENYA
14. NIGERIA
15. YEMEN
16. BURMA
17. ETHIOPIA
18. EAST TIMOR
I don’t understand a lot of these pictures, or how they are “fail”.
#38 is a woman jumping over an irregation ditch… irregation is a positive thing, isn’t it?
#26 is just a sign saying “now entering nature reserve for salt water crocodiles”
#31 is people sitting under a tent. Considering that both football and rugby are popular sports in Congo and that everyone is dressed in roughly the same colour I’d assume these are supporters of a currently playing team.
THESE COUNTRIES HAVE FAILED THEMSELVES AND HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT THEMSELVES. THIS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE NO MORAL OR ETHICAL COMPASS AND KEEP OVER POPULATING THESE COUNTRIES WITH IRRESPONSIBLE AND OUT-OF-CONTROL BIRTH RATES. THESE COUNTRIES SHOULD BE LEVELED AND ALL THESE LAZY, USLESS AND GOOD-FOR-NOTHING PEOPLE ALL CORALED INTO ONE SINGLE AREA, AWAY FROM DECENT PEOPLE. EVEN PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE NO COMPUNCTION ABOUT SPAWNING KIDS THEY CAN’T SUPPORT, CLOTHE, OR FEED! IT’S ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL. I TELL YOU THIS IF I HAD MY WAY I WOULD STOP ALL THIS WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS AND MEDICARE BULLSHIT FOR ALL THESE LITTLE WH*RES RUNNING AROUND WHO OPEN THEIR LEGS FOR ANYONE. IF A GIRL IS NOT GOING TO PRACTICE SAFE S*X AND TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS AGAINST PREGNANCIES THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES AND RAMIFICATIONS OF HER ACTIONS. THERE ARE PLENTLY OF ALTERNATIVES. IS SHE IS RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO SLEEP AROUND AND IRRESPONSIBLE ENOUGH NOT TO USE BIRTH CONTROL, THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, NOT ME!!. I AM SICK TO DE*TH OF THIS SOCIALIST BULLSHIT AND THE DILDOCRATS WHO KEEP THIS SYSTEM IN FULL FORCE, BLEEDING US TAXPAYERS DRY. WHY AREN’T THE PARENTS PAYING FOR THEIR OWN KIDS?? THEY ARE FINANCIALLY AND LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN UNTIL THEY ARE 18 YEARS OLD, AND IF THEY ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE THEIR KID IS ON BIRTH CONTROL, THEN THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES TO SHOULDER THE COSTS AND HELD FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN KID(S), NOT ME!! IF A KID GETS INTO AN AUTO ACCIDENT, OR BREAKS WINDOW, OR DESTROYS A PERSONS PROPERTY THE PARENT IN THE ONE HELD FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE, SO WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO WORK MY A*S OFF TO PAY FOR TAXES WHICH ARE JUST GOING TO BE REDIRECTED INTO A GENERAL SLUSH FUND AND DOLED OUT TO LITTLE F***ING WH*R*S WHO IRRESPONSIBLY HAVE BABIES THEY CAN NOT AFFORD??? THEY SHOULD NOT BE GETTING ONE PENNY FROM TAXPAYERS FOR HAVING KIDS. LET THEM PAY FOR THEIR OWN MISTAKES, BECAUSE I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO. IF THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO SUPPORT A CHILD THEN THEY SHOULD GIVE IT TO PARENTS WHO CAN. AND I CAN SAY THIS BECAUSE I WAS ADOPTED. THIS IS PART OF A HUGE PROBLEM WITH SOCIETY THESE DAYS AND ONE OF THE REASONS THIS COUNTRY IS NOW A SH*T HOLE TOO. THIS COUNTRY USED TO BE A GREAT COUNTRY, UNTIL THE DILDOCRATS RUINED IT WITH EACH PASSING YEAR! NOW WERE STUCK WITH THE WORST ADMINISTRATION AND BUNCH OF BOZO’S THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER SEEN, AND IT CAN ONLY GET WORSE IF GOOD-FOR-NOTHING PARASITES LIKE OBAMA THE FRAUD CAN CHEAT HIS WAY INTO OFFICE AND NO ONE SAYS OR DOES A DAMNED THING ABOUT IT!! HE WASN’T EVEN ELIGIBLE TO RUN. HE WAS BORN IN KENYA AND ISN’T EVEN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN. EVERYONE GAVE HIM A “FREE PASS”. WHY? BECAUSE HE’S BLACK? YEP!! NO ONE ELSE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH THE SHIT OBAMA DID/HAS. WHAT A SAD COUNTRY THIS IS NOW.
none of these pictures speak for themselves. a guy fishing, a crowd cheering, a kid walking past a street vendor? let’s talk about the REAL issues, not just pity the lack of neon
Thank God there is no Indonesia in the list..
A very bias list.
Where is Israel?
If they stopped bombing Lebanon and murdering Palestinians then they would be beautiful country.
Beirut was ‘the Paris of the Middle East’.
USA will be on the list once more of BroBama’s socialist policies take hold.
Where is Mexico? Lots of corruption, the drug cartels rule the country and their immigration policy is rediculous.
Notice a common thread to most of the countries on the list? I don’t see too many pale people on the list, only when the Muslims have some control of the country.
Use some A-Bombs and take out the cancer of the globe.
(Why is everyone freaking out about Sri Lanka?)
Bascially, all the countries are fails;
-MEDCs (USA, UK, France, Canada, yada yada yada) have tonnes of money, and therefore loads of options to spend it on, which results in a higher chance that it would be spent on the wrong thing.
-LEDCs (China, The Philippines, Zambia, yada yada yadaaaa) basically have a less powerful government, so what they say doesn’t matter.
I live in the UK and the economy is complete sh** right now, where in the middle of a credit crunch, thousands are unemployed and we’ve just got a new Prime Ministor whos f***ing everything up in the apparent name of the greater good and that in a couple hundred years, England will be fine again.
We should all just be hippies and leave it at that.
where is china ????????????????????????????????????
Where the hell is INDIA! . My Country is a failed state in all manners. No Proper law, No Security, Nothing in the country. Full corruption,
This list was obviously made by some westerners who don’t understand these countries and wanna make themselves feel better about living in their “1st world” countries while they jeer at the rest of humanity. There is no country that is “fail” in this world, just countries ravaged by war and other social circumstances brought upon them by centuries of colonial abuse. The same people who made this list come from the countries whose forefathers plundered these countries and taught them how to be greedy and rule in a dictatorial manner. So shut up about your USA’s and Britain’s and just think about how your countries have benefited over the years because of these people’s suffering…
been in Cambodia and I would like to move there……if u get off tourist track
people are more happier there then in EU…..
As I already written and as you can read in the first sentance of this post (if you bothered to read it at all), this list was compiled acording to Faild States Index you can find on wikipedia. The photos are just there to illustrate the problems of the country. You can agree or disagree with this list. Everyone is entitled to their opinion as you should give others their chanse to express theirs.
But I can tell you this, if you think that you have to go and live and experience life in all 60 countries to be allowed to write a post on it on the internet, then you wouldn’t find many top lists on the Internet.
Sometimes you have to rely on what others have found out. List of Failed States has been established on certain critieria and you can read all about them.
If you think you can do better do it yourself. Just try to compile a list that not a single person wouldn’t complain about. I would be amazed to see that!
PS We don’t appreciate that kind of langage on Chill Out Point
id dnt knw abt the other countries but…sri lanka is not a failed country..how dare who ever id this sh**… its true that sri lanka suffered 30 yrs of war but its not a horrible place..and actually its one of the best countries in south asia.with reall friendly and welcoming people..and the picture is a misinterpretation..sri lanka is a pure therevada budhist country … so please dont put what u DONT KNW on the net…
It is good for you that u didnt included INDIA in the list ….
And it is very bad that u didnt add USA and UK in the list ….
The public of this both country is very cheap … and also with cheap thinking ….
UK is ahead because of INDIA’s wealth which is stolen by them before 1947 for 150 years ….
Where is 20? U.S. and Russia have won first place in this list! Fu***** Democrats!
After 30 or so years doing oil-related construction work in some of the most god forsaken hellholes around the world.I know one thing,all of the idiots that say that America needs to be on the list either have never been outside of this great nation or are libtards like the current president and the democrat party! PALIN 2012
ohhh….. then what about USA? hey any F…..er… remove Sri Lanka from this shitty list… coz Sri Lanka is Better than other FU..ing contrys.. remember that… no war in Sri lanka and peoples live verry happily….
WTF this is???
Srilanka is not a failed country..we passed the war against world’s largest terrorist organization like LTTE..most of the western n European countries(USA,UK,France,Norway,Canda….) supported tht terrorism.but we won..u failed so called “passed countries” USA,UK,France,Norway, Canada,Sweden etc…bull****!
It’s a shame there are still european contries there (Moldova, Georgia). Particulary Moldova, country bordering with EU… (they should join Romania ASAP!)
“Signoro Incognito says:
July 5, 2010 at 3:34 PM
This is bull****. USA is missing. 10 minutes drive into the projects or in a jobless mid-western city is as bad as anything Central European.”
I dont know where are you from, but propably you know nothing about Central Europe. So be so kind and shut your face.
What are you trying to prove by publishing this reckless report.Look at Congo,UN has tried to show its presence there by force only. In Nepal,it has tried to do so by extending the terms of UNMIN.We don’t them.Hey guys all over the world, visit our country-cheaper,full of beauties like heaven,honest people and at the top peace. I guarantee you of that. Nepal to know whether it is really a failed nation?I disagree you,like hell!
Why is the US of A not on this list? if you take issues of crime, teenage pregnancy, hooliganism, street gangs, single parent families, drugs etc, then USA should be among the first ten
@Augure
finally someone with brain:)
“Love these kids asking where America is, the fact is we’re the best damn country on this earth, and that’s what pisses you off”
Well you’re the most deluded country on earth…
I work for the UN Aviation sector and I have lived in Sudan, the Congo, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Chad and am currently in Cote D’Ivoire. While all these countries (plus MANY more, if not all) are not without their own problems, I just do not agree with the ranking of this list……
Looking at this list makes me glad I live in the U.S. I’m always going to be thankful I live here.
You forgot Kosovo…
This rank is completely wrong. Ridiculous!
Number 55′s picture is misleading. The soldiers are wearing miles gear. Its training gear used by the military. Literally laser tag. See the laser (block by the muzzle) on the rifle? and the halo receiver on the helmet? Also the green vest. I know its not the point, and the country is probably horrible, but its not the best choice of picture.
Well, they all look like hellholes compared to any place I’ve been to. I can’t help but think this list could end up being some kind of rac*sm fodder in the wrong hands.
thats a very sad pic’s of humens
there is a mistake in one picture
in 54.israel/west bank
west bank in palestine
and according to oslo peace protocol between P.L.O and Israel west bank and gaza strip are under the control of palestian national athourty P.N.A
why lebanon they are a mad country they just came out of war leave them alone and look a the proper pictures of there it is so peaceful and loving it is not iraq
i think the list failed not this countrys
why syria? i went to syria 2 years ago i really love this country is peaceful, friendly people and no m*rd*r like we see in the ghetto everyday. libannon have some problems is not faild country.
angola for god sake why ???????????
that should by the name of this list(the must hated country’s by US government)
Love these kids asking where America is, the fact is we’re the best damn country on this earth, and that’s what pisses you off
Most of you can read – but not very good. On top of this page (and a few comments above this one…) it clearly states the following:
“During the last half-decade, the Fund for Peace has been putting together the Failed States Index, using a battery of indicators that determine how stable (or unstable) a country is. As a result, we have taken the top 60, or should we say worst 60 Failed Countries of the World.”
So stop barking up the wrong tree (ie. blaming the messenger) and in stead check it all out at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fund_For_Peace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_state
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
Jörg, Sweden
PS. How come Norway isn’t included…?!?
The fact that you all got so angry without stopping to think shows That we don’t belong in that list at all. You all sound like a bunch of spoiled brats trying to make yourselves seem apathetic and intelligent, but instead you blow your own credibility.
First of all the poster clearly stated several other factors were involved in determining this list. They just said that instead of throwing numbers and stats at us they would use pictures to illustrate they’re point (which was clearly still way too much for you to comprehend).
Secondly the list is extremely long and I would have stopped reading the explanations they would give if they went past number five.
You guys really think we belong on that list? Think about this… you may have a friend in that country or have been to that country, but right now you’re spending your free time reading this on the internet. Helluva luxury don’t you think?
Why not quit your whining for once and just be happy we aren’t in that bad of shape as those countries. I’m sure people could find a lot worse in those countries to take pictures of too morons…
Like a lot of posters here, I’ve been to a number of these places, and as a personal witness, long-term and very low to the ground, and let me tell you that a lot of this is pure BS. I go to Bosnia about twice a year (I’m living in Hungary at the moment), and it is utterly beautiful and peaceful. I was married in Yangon (Myanmar), and friendlier people (like the total strangers who arranged my blessing ceremony at their local monastery) I’ve never found, with the possible exception of Cambodians. Bhutan has ZERO crime. I could go on…
A lot of these places are “failed” because of Empire or US meddling in any case.
This is bull****. USA is missing. 10 minutes drive into the projects or in a jobless mid-western city is as bad as anything Central European.
Papua New Guinea been there- fine. Laos & Cambodia also been- fine and improving. Cambodia is really beautiful- o visit.
Modlova, Bosnia, Egypt, Iran, Syria- don’t belong. All these countries are amazing and progressing.
Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are normally peaceful- the violence is an aberration funded by the CIA.
Bhutan WTF? Bhutan is one of the most peaceful, crime-free societies on the planet. Poor, but happy.
yah~USA,imperialist f****** empire is missing
What a bunch of bull****. I went to lots of these countries, and in fact some of them are fake (they’re not from where they pretend it to be)
What is it? America’s bombing wish-list ?
Most of these countries are f***** because of the US and their UE friends.
F*** this ethnocentric stupid ignorant bull****.
Here is the list according to witch this top list was compiled. It is mentioned in the first line of the post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
As with any list compiled by man using some math formula and some data you consider relevant, you may agree or disagree with the choice. But people at least tried to do it.
I hope that you can put some suggestions of your own here, so that we can all exchange opinions on this intriguing topic.
@TheWave I so agree with you. This post would be fine if it was solely postcards from hell since these particular photos are very horrible but to say a country fails is simply being in denial about our global responsibility. Yes you could say Haiti failed but what would you say when you are asked about France initially forcing the first Black nation to pay for their recognized independence which was the start to their heavy debt? France failed the world by demanding reparations from Haiti so why is the blame all put on Haiti? Or what about how as a nation (USA) we look at Ethiopia as a “failed country” but little of us know that it is one of the first Christian nations in the world, has established churches that pre-dates any in Europe, a successful lineage of 225 monarchs descended from Queen of Sheba and some of the richest cultural experiences on earth? We blame some, ignore others, lie to our own and then wonder why the world is why it is the way it is….This is a GLOBAL community so when one fails we all suffer. The fact that the poster stopped giving explanations after the first few countries and simply made assumptions based off of the worst photos they could find is saddening to say the least.
you missed gaza
VENEZUELA. 94% of murd*rs are not even prosecuted. Barely 0,2 of all murd*rs result in Conviction. 150,000 de*ds in 10 years… oh I forgot to say: WE ARE AT PEACE.
This list of failed countries is fail…
I think you can put more or less every god damn country of this fu**ed up planet on this list.
We failed, we got own3d, so to speak.
Where is USA and their so called coalition. They failed to eradicate terrorism for the last 9 years. Sri Lanka did it in 3 years. So who has failed?
So, you judge the failure of a country based on some…pictures? I could show you upsetting pics from pretty much every country in the world, so does that mean that every country is a failure? I have friends from Nigeria with family back there who are perfectly happy with their country. Iran and Iraq were fine up until recently. While many of these countries, it’s true, have corrupt governments and lax policies, many are struggling because of war (see Middle East) or something else (see Haiti earthquake). If this had been made during the American Civil War, one would have said that it was a failed nation. During Apartheid, South Africa might have been a failed nation. Certainly during WWII Germany could have been labeled a failed state. And yet now, the US, South Africa, and Germany are all (relatively) stable. That you say these nations have failed demonstrates a lack of perspective, which you might want to gain before passing such blatant judgment.
you forgot Poland
usa is missing