There are numerous think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and philanthropic institutions diligently and impressively working all around the globe today to bring us knowledge and data sets about the state of the world’s countries across a host of important life indexes. While their work is obviously inspired to bring attention to and ultimately alleviate some of the world’s worst crises and suffering, this article wants to use the same extensive data sets to bring to light the bottom of the barrel, so to speak: to highlight what are unfortunately the worst places on earth to be accidentally born into.
Now, one small caveat: this is not to take aim at or denigrate any of the cultures, traditions, or customs of the countries discussed below. Indeed, my global experiences give credence to the fact that some of the richest tapestries of culture and history are often in places with the WORST contemporary governance. People are wonderful creatures in that way: not simply resilient, but striving to create little pockets of enlightenment and joy in the midst of tyranny, corruption, and degradation. So, keep this in mind as we consider the worst hells on earth: it is not an indictment against any particular place or culture but rather evidence of how maddeningly easy it is to let modern people ruin what would otherwise be great richness.
The following rankings are run from a host of the world’s best and most thorough data-collection organizations, including the United Nations, Freedom House, the World Bank, Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, RAND Corporation, Oxfam, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings, and the National Endowment for Democracy. They are by no means the only organizations doing good work in these areas but they are estimable exemplars of said subjects.
Poverty (10 WORST)
10. Madagascar   9. Eritrea          8. Guinea            7. Mozambique               6. Malawi
5. Niger                               4. Liberia            3. Burundi          2. Democratic Republic of Congo
1. Central African Republic
Human Rights (10 WORST)
10. Nigeria          9. Yemen            8. Myanmar       7. Iraq                  6. Afghanistan
5. Somalia           4. Pakistan         3. Democratic Republic of Congo              2. Sudan
1. Syria
Human Development (12 LOWEST)
177. Liberia        178. Guinea Bissau         179. Mali             180. Mozambique           181. Sierra Leone
182. Guinea       183. Burkina Faso            184. Burundi      185. Chad           186. Eritrea
187. Central African Republic     188. Niger
Corruption (12 HIGHEST RATES)
176 Somalia       175 South Sudan             174 North Korea              173 Syria             170 Yemen
170 Sudan          170 Libya             169 Afghanistan               168 Guinea-Bissau          166 Venezuela
166 Iraq               164 Eritrea
Democratic Institutions (12 LEAST DEVELOPED AND CONSOLIDATED)
156 Yemen         157 Guinea-Bissau          158 Uzbekistan 159 Saudi Arabia
159 Democratic Republic of Congo          161 Tajikistan    162 Turkmenistan
163 Equatorial Guinea   164 Central African Republic       165 Chad             166 Syria
167 North Korea
Gender Equality (10 LEAST EQUAL)
10. Morocco      9. Jordan             8. Lebanon         7. Cote d’Ivoire 6. Iran
5. Mali                  4. Syria 3. Chad 2. Pakistan         2. Saudi Arabia
1. Yemen
Crime (10 HIGHEST RATES)
1.Venezuela      2. Papua New Guinea   3. Honduras       4. South Sudan
5.South Africa   6. Afghanistan  7. El Salvador     8. Nigeria            9. Brazil
10.Trinidad and Tobago
Social Welfare (12 LEAST SUPPORTIVE)
166 Central African Republic                       165 Democratic Republic of Congo          164 North Korea
163 Liberia          162 Burundi       161 Mali              160 Comoros     159 Mozambique
158 Niger            157 Haiti              156 Togo             155 Guinea-Bissau
Health Care (10 WORST COVERED)
10 Zambia           9 Lesotho           8 Mozambique 7 Malawi             6 Liberia              5 Nigeria
4 Democratic Republic of Congo               3 Central African Republic           2 Myanmar
1 Sierra Leone
Political Rights and Civil Liberties (11 WORST FREEDOM LEVELS)
1.Syria  2. Eritrea             3. North Korea 4. Uzbekistan                    5. South Sudan
6.           Turkmenistan   7. Somalia           8. Sudan              9. Equatorial Guinea
10.         Central African Republic               11. Saudi Arabia
These 10 indexes were taken because I believe they represent, in total, just about every plausible measure the would encompass a ‘good life.’ Now, this is not an ode to American greed or a testimony to global market capitalism: a ‘good life’ does not mean endless riches, multiple fast cars, or flashy bling (Sorry, Hollywood and Dubai). Rather, it is a much simpler calculation of having some disposable income, leisure time, political participation, reliable governance, and rational social safety net. Not overwhelming requests or expectations by any means. But taken together they provide a human being the opportunity to plan for and be excited about the future and a belief that while wrongs and injustices may still occur in life, they have reasonable expectation to take recourse to right any unjust wrong legally and judiciously.
And so, without further ado, I give the Nihilistic Nine: countries that found their names on the ten indexes the most. In each case the indexes are listed, as I believe there is some fascinating future research possible by understanding just where a country fails its people and does not provide a good life. Some entries are expected because of the horror of war and egregious governmental ineptitude (like Syria, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo). But some entries I dare say will leave people scratching their heads: not because you thought these places were bastions of stability and prosperity, but rather because you likely have never heard or seen anything about these countries at all. And in that case perhaps the most important question we need to be asking is not how these countries are faring so poorly, but WHY has the world basically said and done nothing about them?
So, take a very good look at the following list. For these are the places, quantitatively, that tell us you can find Hell on earth, a wretched affirmation that what Hobbes noted so many centuries ago still torments the modern day: that even in the 21st century, there remain places where life is nothing but nasty, brutish, and short.
Niger: Human Development, Poverty, Social Welfare
Nigeria: Human Rights, Crime, Health Care
Eritrea: Corruption, Human Development, Poverty
Guinea-Bissau: Social Welfare, Corruption, Human Development
Saudi Arabia: Democratic Institutions, Gender Equality, Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Yemen: Gender Equality, Democratic Institutions, Corruption, Human Rights
DRC: Health Care, Social Welfare, Democratic Institutions, Human Rights, Poverty
Syria: Human Rights, Corruption, Democratic Institutions, Gender Equality, Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Central African Republic: Political Rights and Civil Liberties, Health Care, Social Welfare, Democratic Institutions, Human Development, Poverty
