Although it may not seem like it, on average, the world is improving.
Countries are growing their economies and populations, and working together to build
a stable global future.
But not everywhere.
In certain pockets of the world, war, chaos, and and increasingly uncertain political instability
is pushing certain nations straight towards their eventual failure.
So we wanted to know, which countries are at the greatest risk of collapse, and why?
Well, to find out, we can use the widely cited Fragile States Index, published by the non-profit
think tank, Fund for Peace.
Using 12 indicators, covering social, economic, and political factors, the FSI ranks all United
Nations members based on their likelihood of failing as a sovereign state.
Since 2014, the same three countries have ranked at the very bottom, and one of them
is the long struggling Central African Republic.
The CAR, like most war-torn African countries, is the product of failed colonization by Europe,
following the 19th century partition of Africa.
After roughly 80 years of French rule, the CAR declared its independence in 1960, but
was far from democratic.
Almost immediately, the government began suppressing opposition, and was overthrown in a coup d'état.
This new government was best known for establishing a dictator, who was alleged to have personally
ordered the murder of 100 child protestors.
Over the next 40 years, a series of coups, foreign overthrows of government, and false
attempts at democracy led to multiple civil wars beginning in 2003.
For the past decade and a half, the United Nations and the country's former colonizer
France have attempted to reach peace between the country's many different warring factions,
with little to no success.
Today, the CAR is one of the world's poorest countries and according to the UN's Human
Development Index, has seen less development than any other nation on earth.
It has also consistently ranked as one of the most unhealthy nations, particularly in
terms of hygiene, malaria, sanitation, lack of medical supplies, and most destructively:
war.
The country has even seen ethnic cleansing of its Muslim minority since 2013.
Without the United Nations actively working to prevent a total collapse, the Central African
Republic is the third most likely to fail country in the world.
The second most unstable country is Somalia, which has been in the bottom three since 2007.
Another victim of European colonization, this time by Italy and Britain, Somalia has struggled
since declaring independence in 1960.
Although somewhat stable due to a dictatorship, In 1991, the Somali Civil War broke out following
the collapse of the Somali government.
In the past 25 years, the country has been in an almost nonstop state of war, with religious
and political factions alternately seizing territory, and a steady growth of terror groups
such as the al-Qaeda aligned Al-Shabaab.
The lack of effective government has even led to pirates attacking ships near the Somali
coast.
Today, much of the country is still relatively lawless and in extreme poverty, with no real
functioning economy or social services.
But the most likely to collapse country in the world, is also one of the most recently
created.
South Sudan only became independent in 2011, but has been engaged in a bloody civil war
since 2013.
As many as 300,000 people were believed to have been killed in just two years of fighting,
with devastating ethnic violence, and more than one million people displaced.
In one notable massacre, members of particular ethnic groups and religions were executed
en masse by former pro-government groups, and local radio stations broadcasted hate
messages, encouraging torture and murder.
Attacks on hospitals, places of worship, and schools have left the country non-functioning,
and barely held together by UN forces.
These three nations follow a pattern of post-colonial independence and subsequent fragility.
They are all marked by ongoing conflict, repeat government turnover, violent insurgencies,
and extreme poverty.
With so many interrelated crises happening at the same time, these countries NEED the
global community's help, and without it, they are likely to fail completely.
As one of the most likely to fail states, Somalia is subject to more terror attacks
than almost any other country.
To find out more about Somalia's history and it's current struggle with terrorism,
check out this video to the right.
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