Index of State Weakness

The Brookings Institution has just released the Index of State Weakness in the Developing World. Together with the Center for Global Development, they ranked 141 developing countries in the degree of "weakness" (as measured by 20 indicators in four areas -- economic, political, security and social welfare.)

Under their "economic basket" they measure a country's GNI per capita, GDP growth, income inequality, inflation, and regulatory quality.

Under the "political basket" they measure government effectiveness, rule of law, voice and accountability, control of corruption, and freedom.

Under the "security basket" they measure conflict intensity, gross human rights abuses, territory affected by conflict, incidence of coups, and political stability.

Under the "social welfare basket" is child mortality, access to improved water, undernourishment, primary school completion, and life expectancy.

The countries that ranked as the "weakest states" were Somalia, Afghanistan, Congo, Iraq, and Burundi. Not a lot of surprises there. But the report itself (and the scores per country) and fairly interesting, and you ought to take a look at this report.