Sri Lanka: A State In Danger

June 25, 2013 

Sri Lanka slipped down to the 29th position on the 2013 Failed States Index, compiled annually by the Fund for Peace and the Foreign Policy Magazine. In the 2012 Failed States Index, Sri Lanka occupied the 29th place from the bottom.  This year’s drop by one position is due to deterioration of performance in 7 out of 12 categories: Group Grievance, Human Flight and Brain Drain, Poverty and Economic Decline, Delegitimsation of the State, Human Rights and Rule of Law, Factionalised Elite and External Intervention.

Group Grievance category includes pressures and measures related to discrimination, communal violence, powerlessness, sectarian violence, ethnic violence and religious violence. Human Flight is calculated taking into account migration per capita, emigration of educated population and human capital. Poverty and Economic Decline provides a composite figure for economic deficit purchasing power, government debt, GDP per capita, unemployment, GDP growth, youth employment and inflation. State Legitimacy is calculated by taking into account corruption, level of democracy, government effectiveness, illicit economy, drug trade, political participation, protests and demonstrations, electoral process and power struggles. Human Rights and Rule of Law includes pressures and measures related to press freedom, incarceration, civil liberties, religious persecution, political freedoms, human trafficking, torture, political prisoners and executions. Factionalised Elite is indicative of power struggles, political competition, defectors and flawed elections. External Intervention calculated the levels of foreign assistance, foreign military intervention, presence of peacekeepers, sanctions, presence of UN missions and credit rating.

In 2012, Sri Lanka’s total score was 92.2. Due to declining performances in some of the above areas Sri Lanka’s total score for 2013 increased to 92.9.