The most economically and politically stable countries in the world

Each year, the American Peace Foundation ranks world states according to their level of economic and political stability. And the lower the indicators, the more stable the country is considered. Once the rating was called rather harshly - "Index of Failed States", however, under pressure from the public, the name had to be changed to the "incapacity" rating.

The criteria used to assess a particular country include:

the level of authority of the elites and their control over the power structures,
the ability of the state to cope with crime,
level of social inequality,
demographic situation,
ratio of immigrants / emigrants, social protection, presence / absence of pressure from neighboring countries and much more.

A place	Country	Score
1	Finland	16,9
2	Norway	18,0
3	Switzerland	18,7
4	Denmark	19,5
5	Australia	19,7
6	Iceland	19,8
7	Canada	20,0
8	New Zealand	20,1
9	Sweden	20,3
10	Luxembourg	20,4
11	Ireland	20,6
12	Germany	24,7
13	Netherlands	24,8
14	Austria	25,0
15	Portugal	25,3
16	Slovenia	28,0
17	Singapore	28,1
18	Belgium	28,6
19	France	32,0
20	South Korea	33,7
21	Uruguay	34,0
22	Japan	34,3
23	Malta	34,5
24	United Kingdom	36,7
25	Czech	37,6
26	United States	38,0
27	Lithuania	38,1
28	Mauritius	38,9
29	Chile	38,9
30	United Arab Emirates	40,1
31	The Slovak Republic	40,5
32	Spain	40,7
33	Estonia	40,8
34	Costa Rica	42,0
35	Poland	42,8
36	Italy	43,8
37	Latvia	43,9
38	Qatar	45,4
39	Argentina	46,0
40	Panama	47,0
41	Croatia	47,5
42	Romania	47,8
43	Barbados	48,0
44	Bahamas	48,8
45	Hungary	49,6
46	Oman	50,0
47	Bulgaria	50,6
48	Trinidad and Tobago	53,0
49	Kuwait	53,2
50	Greece	53,9
51	Mongolia	54,1
52	Antigua and Barbuda	54,4
53	Seychelles	55,2
54	Montenegro	55,3
55	Brunei Darussalam	57,5
56	Grenada	57,6
57	Cyprus	57,8
58	Albania	58,9
59	Botswana	59,5
60	Malaysia	60,5
61	Cuba	60,8
62	Jamaica	61,2
63	Kazakhstan	61,6
64	Suriname	61,9
65	Belize	62,5
66	Bahrain	63,8
67	Samoa	64,2
68	Macedonia	64,6
69	Ghana	65,9
70	Vietnam	66,1
71	Dominican Republic	66,2
72	Namibia	66,4
73	Cape Verde	66,6
74	Armenia	66,7
75	Paraguay	67,0
76	Moldova	67,1
77	Serbia	68,0
78	Peru	68,2
79	Guyana	68,2
80	Belarus	68,2
81	Mexico	69,7
82	Maldives	69,8
83	El Salvador	69,8
84	Tunisia	70,1
85	Saudi Arabia	70,4
86	Indonesia	70,4
87	Gabon	70,5
88	Ukraine	71,0
89	South Africa	71,1
90	Sao Tome and Principe	71,1
91	China	71,1
92	Ecuador	71,2
93	Bosnia and Herzegovina	71,3
94	Turkmenistan	71,4
95	Fiji	71,7
96	Brazil	71,8
97	Georgia	72,0
98	Butane	72,0
99	Bolivia	72,9
100	Morocco	73,0
101	Micronesia	73,0
102	Thailand	73,1
103	Azerbaijan	73,2
104	Benin	73,6
105	India	74,4
106	Russia	74,7
107	Algeria	75,4
108	Uzbekistan	75,7
109	Colombia	75,7
110	Jordan	75,9
111	Republic of Kyrgyzstan	76,2
112	Israel and the West Bank	76,5
113	Senegal	77,2
114	Tajikistan	77,7
115	Honduras	77,8
116	Nicaragua	78,1
117	Laos	78,7
118	Lesotho	79,7
119	Tanzania	80,1
120	Turkey	80,3
121	Madagascar	80,9
122	Guatemala	81,4
123	Comoros	81,7
124	Solomon islands	81,9
125	Cambodia	82,5
126	Equatorial Guinea	82,6
127	Iran	83,0
128	Philippines	83,1
129	Papua New Guinea	83,1
130	Malawi	83,3
131	Gambia	83,9
132	Burkina Faso	83,9
133	Sri Lanka	84,0
134	Nepal	84,7
135	Lebanon	85,0
136	Djibouti	85,1
137	Eswatini	85,3
138	East Timor	85,5
139	Zambia	85,7
140	Sierra Leone	86,8
141	Go	87,4
142	Rwanda	87,5
143	Bangladesh	87,7
144	Angola	87,8
145	Egypt	88,4
146	Mozambique	88,7
147	Venezuela	89,3
148	Mauritania	90,1
149	Liberia	90,2
150	Ivory Coast	92,1
151	Libya	92,2
152	Republic of the Congo	92,5
153	North Korea	92,7
154	Kenya	93,5
155	Pakistan	94,2
156	Ethiopia	94,2
157	Myanmar	94,3
158	Mali	94,5
159	Uganda	95,3
160	Guinea-Bissau	95,5
161	Niger	96,2
162	Eritrea	96,4
163	Cameroon	97,0
164	Burundi	98,2
165	Nigeria	98,5
166	Iraq	99,1
167	Haiti	99,3
168	Guinea	99,4
169	Zimbabwe	99,5
170	Afghanistan	105,0
171	Sudan	108,0
172	Chad	108,5
173	Central African Republic	108,9
174	Congo, D.R.	110,2
175	Syria	111,5
176	South Sudan	112,2
177	Somalia	112,3
178	Yemen	113,5

This is what the top 10 most stable countries in the world in 2019 look like.

Content

10. Luxembourg

Instability: 20.4 (less is better)

It is a tiny European state with a population slightly below 600,000.However, despite its size, Luxembourg is the second richest country in the world, behind only the richest Arab country - Qatar. GDP per capita here is simply stunning - more than 105 thousand dollars!

The country owes its wealth to a large number of private banks. Luxembourg is a tax haven for large corporations, many of which are helped by local financiers to cut tax payments through individual ultra-low rates.

9.Sweden

Instability: 20.3

One of most prosperous countries in the world has been in principle neutral for many years. This position on the international stage, coupled with a commitment to human rights and economic sustainability, increases Sweden's profile in international affairs.

Like other Scandinavian countries, Sweden is a capitalist country. However, the share that the Swedish state allocates to social services is much higher than the global average. Add to this a progressive tax rate, well-developed infrastructure and transportation network, as well as free health care and secondary specialized education, and you can understand why Swedes have one of the highest lifespans in the world (82.2 years).

8. New Zealand

Instability: 20.1

Most of New Zealand's 4.7 million people live on the northern island. Low population density and the absence of large predators allow New Zealanders and tourists to travel unhindered through the archipelago. And the places there are beautiful. You probably know that it was in New Zealand that Peter Jackson's famous trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" was filmed.

One of the most stable countries in 2019 lives mainly on the export of agricultural products, meat, poultry and wine. Per capita income is quite high ($ 39,000), and spending on education as a percentage of GDP is one of the highest in the world.

7. Canada

Instability: 20

The land of beavers and lakes occupies almost two-fifths of the North American continent, and is second only to Russia in size. With such a huge area, it is sparsely populated, and most of the inhabitants are concentrated near the border with the United States, since the climate there is a little better.

An important part of Canadians' national identity is multiculturalism; the Canadian government is extremely positive about immigrants and strongly encourages them to come.

Both the economy and the government of Canada have remained unchanged over the years. For example, this country is still nominally a constitutional monarchy ruled by a British queen. In practice, this is reflected in the fact that the Canadian Prime Minister appoints a "decorative" Governor-General who participates in various beautiful ceremonies. Canada also has traditionally strong cultural and economic ties with the United States.

6. Iceland

Volatility: 19.8

For many years now, Iceland has been in the top ten of various ratings, ranging from the health of the nation to the safest country in the world... It's amazing how this tiny island nation of just 340,000 people managed to achieve such prosperity.

There is almost no crime in the country, Iceland has no army, but it has free education and a high level of gender equality. And finally, there are no mosquitoes in Iceland at all, they simply do not survive there! Sounds like heaven on earth, right?

5. Australia

Instability: 19.7

Although the Australians finally broke all ties with the metropolis in the 80s of the last century, the British queen is still the figurehead of Australia. But the country does not live on the past alone. Its economy stands on two pillars - a developed service sector and an active export of goods.

The demographic policy of the Australian authorities is, among other things, to attract highly qualified specialists from all over the world to the country. Therefore, Australia is one of the most accessible countries for migration in the world.

And living in this country is so good that life expectancy for both women and men is one of the highest in the world.

4. Denmark

Instability: 19.5

Denmark is in fourth place in the ranking of the most stable states in the world, which serves as a kind of gateway between the Scandinavian peninsula and the rest of Europe. Its capital, Copenhagen, is home to the largest airport in Scandinavia, as well as the famous bridge that connects the city to Sweden.

One of the indicators of the stability of a state is the invariability of its political system, and Denmark is very indicative in this regard. For many centuries it has been ruled by kings and queens (although from the middle of the 19th century - purely nominally).

Thanks to a progressive taxation system, healthcare services in the country are virtually free. As well as higher education. Another advantage of the country is the excellent work of social elevators. That is, any person can become literally anyone - from an official or the head of a large corporation to a scientist or a high-ranking military man.

3. Switzerland

Instability: 18.7

Switzerland for centuries adhered to neutrality in all the warriors that shook Europe. The last conflict that the country remembers occurred in the middle of the 19th century, when the confederation of cantons became a federal republic. Since then, Switzerland has enjoyed peace and prosperity.

Now the country has a very low unemployment rate, a strong economy, the lion's share of which is occupied by a well-developed service sector, including financial.

Fun fact: Despite its small size, Switzerland has given the world more Nobel Prize winners than any other country in the world.

2. Norway

Instability: 18

Once upon a time, the Vikings drove the inhabitants of Europe into fear. But those days have passed and now Norway is very respectable and stable.

GDP per capita is 72 thousand dollars, private initiative is flourishing, and at the same time the population has a good safety cushion from the state in the form of social benefits. All these benefits are backed by "black gold": oil found in the 60s of the last century spurred the Norwegian economy well.

Norwegians are also very fond of reading, and the country is among the leaders in the number of books published per capita.

1. Finland

Instability: 16.9

The Peace Foundation considers Finland the most stable state. She is is the happiest country in 2019, according to the World Happiness Report.

Finns strictly respect human rights, and once this country was one of the first to give women the opportunity to vote. The Finnish economy is a capitalist economy, but a significant portion of the budget is spent on social security and public services. For example, Finnish education is considered one of the most affordable in the world. However, the country is not locked in its own little cozy world, and at least a third of its GDP comes from international trade.

Like all developed countries, Finland faces an acute problem of population aging. Falling fertility can make it difficult to maintain the level of well-being that Finns are used to.

Russia ranks 106th in the list of the most stable countries in the world with a fairly high "total score" of instability - 74.7. For comparison: the most unstable country in the world (Yemen) has this figure of 113.5 out of 120 possible. And the closest neighbors of Russia - Ukraine and Belarus - have 71 and 68.2, respectively.