According to a Washington-based nonprofit Fund for Peace, Somalia tops the 2012 Failed States Index because of “widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks against foreign vessels.”

The group’s eighth annual list, which ranks instability risks of 177 nations based on 12 social, economic and political indicators, was published Monday by Foreign Policy magazine.

It says the nations ranking high on the list aren’t necessarily failed states, but are facing enormous pressure stemming from factors such as uneven development, economic decline and human-rights issues.

Several other African countries including Congo (D.R), Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, and Central African Republic are among those rated top ten failed states in the world.