11 Worst Governed Countries in The World

Running a country is certainly a lot of hard work, and sometimes it’s clear that the people who rule don’t really care about the wellbeing of the people, which is obvious in these 11 worst governed countries in the world.

We’re not going to say that it’s easy to make laws that right the wrongs of previous governments, we’re not even going to say that it’s easy to come up with a plan to put the economy back on track, but these few countries make it all seem like it’s downright impossible.

In order to create this list, we took a look at a few important indicators, including inflation rate, economic freedom, corruption levels, perceived corruption, crime levels, public debt per GDP and GDP per capitaRI, as well as gender equality. We took our information from a variety of international reports, including from the IMF, Heritage, Transparency International, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to name a few. If you want, you can also take a look and see which are the 11 worst countries that are responsible for global warming.

We ranked each country based on their positions, added things up and ended up with several countries where things could really use some improvements. After all, everyone on this planet deserves to live a good life and to have things handed to them a lot easier than it happens in these nations. One of the biggest issues, the root of all evil if you will, is corruption which blocks everything before anyone even has a chance to make a change of some kind. . This way, we created a list of 11 worst governed countries in the world.

11. Iraq

Score – 14

A country ridden with war, it’s no wonder that Iraq has issues getting back to normal. In fact, the country has big problems with corruptions nowadays. According to data from Transparency International, Iraq ranks 161^st out of 167 nations on the 2015 lists. Another list regarding perceived corruption at an international level, Iraq scored 0.13 points out of a total of 10 mostly based on financial issues, as well as administrative and law circumvention problems among officials.

10. Zimbabwe

Score – 18

The Republic of Zimbabwe doesn’t really have a good economic situation. In fact, on Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index, the country ranked 175th out of 178 countries. At the same time, the country’s public debt as part of the GDP is of over 200 percent, according to CIA data from 2012.

These aren’t the biggest problems, however, as the country fights poverty and famish with the vice president recently announcing that they need $1.5 billion in food aid following the drought left behind by El Nino. Violations of human rights are also quite common in Zimbabwe, particularly under President Mugabe’s administration.

9. Afghanistan

Score – 18

On top of all the problems Afghanistan goes through, including now after the American war in the area ended in late 2014, the country has many issues with corruption. For our ranking, Afghanistan received points for corruption and perceived corruption. According to a 2015 report from Fiscal Times, the country was not going to manage to meet the budgetary obligations for 2016 after the domestic revenue dropped. Revenues that account for the country’s domestic revenue had been stolen, so Afghanistan is left high and dry.

8. Yemen

Score – 19

The Republic of Yemen is a country in the Arabian Peninsula that has some big problems with the way it is governed. Not only is Yemen on the list of countries with the highest perceived corruption, but it is also one where inflation is very high up. According to data from the IMF, the country’s 2015 inflation rate sat at over 30 percent.

Sadly, Yemen also tops the list of the worst countries for gender equality. Here, only 26 percent of women of working age are part of the labor force and women are appointed in only 2 percent of leading positions. Gender-based restrictions are also an issue when it comes to political empowerment with only ten percent of ministerial positions being held by women.

7. Somalia

Score – 22

The country taking over the seventh spot has some issues of its own. On top of the poverty that has taken over most of the country and the illegal activities taking place within its borders, Somalia has many other issues. Some of those are with corruption at all levels, as well as with perceived corruption, ranking at the bottom of both lists.

Analysis from the Wall Street Journal that was published a while back indicated that the country’s central bank is being used for private purposes with withdrawals being made for various individuals, while government programs remain on stand by as no funds are being withdrawn to implement them. What’s worse is that these funds seem to be completely untraceable which means they’ve vanished into one account or another, most likely belonging to some big name in Somalia.

6. The Central African Republic

Score – 22

Obtaining points in three different areas, the Central African Republic has issues with economic freedom, as well as corruption and GDP per capita. According to data from Verisk Maplecroft, a risk analysis forecasting company, the Central African Republic scored 0.12 points out of a total of 10. The issue seems to be the huge corruption that affects the timber and diamond industries in the country. Heritage Foundation’s list of economic freedom places the Central African Republic on the 168th spot out of 178.

The country’s GDP per capita is also the lowest in the world, only 609 international dollars.

5. Venezuela

Score – 23

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’ve surely noticed all the news about Venezuela and how the country has a record inflation, namely 141 percent. What’s worse, however, is that according to Economic Times, the inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year after the price of oil plummeted.

Other issues the country has are with economic freedom – according to data from Heritage Foundation, Venezuela ranks 176^th out of 178 nations. The country’s crime levels are also through the roof. Data from 2012 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime puts Venezuela on the second spot when it comes to the crime rate.

4. Sudan

Score – 24

This north-east African country has quite a few issues, scoring multiple times on our list, including for inflation and corruption. Sudan’s inflation rate for 2015 was 19.8 percent, according to the IMF. At the same time, on the list of perceived corruption, Sudan scored 0.12 points out of 10. One prominent issue in recent history was the situation where President al-Bashir fled from South Africa before he could be arrested for genocide. Transparency International also places Sudan on the 165th place, out of 167 countries.

3. South Sudan

Score – 24

South Sudan has some pretty big issues, scoring high on several lists, including – inflation, corruption and perceived corruption.

The country’s inflation rate sits at 41.1 percent, which is the third level in the world. At the same time, South Sudan scored 0.15 points out of 10 on the list of the countries with the highest perceived corruption. Basically, despite all the wealth generated by the oil in this country, the extensive corruption that infiltrates the system is curbing democracy. The civil war the country has been in since 2013 hasn’t helped matters much either.

Transparency International also puts the South Sudanese corruption on the 163th spot out of 167 in total, which should paint a pretty clear picture as to why it tops the list of the 11 worst governed countries in the world.

2. Congo

Score – 26

The Democratic Republic of Congo is anything but how it’s supposed to be. Congo scored on multiple lists, including economic freedom, corruption, and GDP per capita. When it comes to perceived corruption, Congo scored a whopping 0 points out of 10. According to various reports corruption is so deeply buried that they don’t even seem to care about the issues it’s causing anymore.

When it comes to GDP per capita, Congo scores second to last with 729 international dollars, according to data from the IMF. The Heritage Foundation places Congo on the 172^nd position out of 178 when it comes to economic freedom.

1. North Korea

Score – 32

North Korea received scores on three different lists, all of them maximum – economic freedom, corruption and perceived corruption. According to different reports from the Heritage Foundation, Transparency International and more, North Korea is the perfect image for a totalitarian state – there is only corruption, at such levels that everyone is afraid to speak out and in such a manner that they don’t even see how wrong things are. At the same time, given all the restrictions imposed on the country, economic freedom isn’t really a possibility. Things aren’t exactly bright in North Korea and those who have escaped the regime there have spent a lot of time telling the rest of the world what they’ve been through. Whether it’s the truth or not, it will likely be a while before we actually find out. Until then, however, with the data we do have, North Korea managed to take the top spot among the 11 worst governed countries in the world.