The Fund for Peace released the eighth edition of its annual Failed States Index (FSI), highlighting global political, economic and social pressures experienced by states.

The 2012 FSI ranks Somalia as number one for the fifth consecutive year, citing widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks against foreign vessels.

Meanwhile, Finland has remained in the best position, with its Scandinavian neighbors Sweden and Denmark rounding out the best three rankings. All three nations benefit from strong social and economic indicators, paired with excellent provision of public services and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The FSI ranks 178 countries using 12 social, economic, and political indicators of pressure on the state, along with over 100 sub-indicators. These include such issues as Uneven Development, State Legitimacy, Group Grievance, and Human Rights. Each indicator is rated on a scale of 1-10, based on the analysis of millions of publicly available documents, other quantitative data, and assessments by analysts.

A high score indicates high pressure on the state, and therefore a higher risk of instability.

Other notable changes this year include countries affected by the Arab Spring. Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Tunisia all ranked significantly worse than the previous year. Libya's decline was the most remarkable, with the country registering the worst year-on-year worsening in the history of the FSI as a result of civil war. Similarly, Syria registered the fourth-greatest year-on-year worsening in the history of the FSI. In the wake of the massive earthquake and resultant nuclear crisis, Japan also worsened significantly.

Though Japan continues to rank among the best seven percent of countries, Japan's near-record worsening on the FSI demonstrates how susceptible even the most stable of nations are to sudden shocks. Greece continued to decline as the economic crisis has gripped the country.

The Fund for Peace assessed South Sudan this year for the first time after the new nation gained its independence in the second half of 2011.

Armenia has the best indicators among the regional states and is ranked 102nd in the 2012 Failed States Index. Among the regional states Azerbaijan is ranked 68th, Georgia -51st and Turkey – 85th. Russia is the 82d.