DUSHANBE, March 11, Asia-Plus  -- In accordance with ratings prepared by the Brookings Institution, Tajikistan has been ranked 42nd among 141 countries in terms of the index of state weakness.  

The Brookings Institution’s Index of State Weakness ranks 141 developing countries on the basis of four critical state abilities: economic growth, political institutions, security and social welfare.  According to their score, the countries are divided into groups from “failed states,” “critically weak states,” “weak states” to “states to watch.”  The report illustrates several trends such as extreme insecurity in failed states and the link between extreme poverty and weak states.

            Among the top ten failed states are Somali, Afghanistan, Congo, Iraq, Burundi, Sudan, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Liberia and Cot d’Ivuar   

Among the CIS states the worst indices are of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan that are ranked 35th and 36th respectively. 

The Russian Federation is ranked 65th, Kyrgyzstan 73rd, Azerbaijan 80th, Belarus 81st, Moldova 88th, Kazakhstan 89th, Georgia 90th, Armenia 105 ^th , and Ukraine 107th.  

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC.  One of Washington''s oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, particularly in economics, metropolitan, government, global development and foreign policy.  Their stated mission is to "provide innovative and practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and; secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system."  Brookings states that its scholars "represent diverse points of view" and describes itself as non-partisan.