Washington, June 21 (IANS) Pakistan and Afghanistan are among the top 10 most failed states in the world, according to a report Monday in the US magazine Foreign Policy.
The fifth annual Failed States Index 2010, released in collaboration with the US-based Fund for Peace think tank, ranked 177 nations according to their viability. India was ranked 87th.
Judged according to 12 criteria, including state of cohesion and performance, states range from the most failed, Somalia, to the least, Norway.
Pakistan ranked 10th most failed state, while Afghanistan was 7th.
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are rated 19th, 22nd and 25th respectively.
The top 60 positions in the list were occupied by African and Middle Eastern countries.
Bhutan came 48th and the Maldives 81st. The US ranked 159th, while Britan was 169th.
The report was based on thousands of articles from different sources gathered over several months.
The 12 indicators for arriving at a rating were mounting demographic pressures, movement of refugees, legacy of vengeance, chronic and sustained human flight, uneven economic development, severe economic decline, criminalization and/or delegitimization of the state, among others.
