The prestigious Foreign Policy magazine has released the 2010 Failed States Index. Barring a few shuffles, the top 10 slots on the list are almost the same as the previous year's list.

Pakistan:

Pakistan is the 10th most failed nation on the list.                

The country has scored poor ratings on all factors, the worst being security apparatus (9.7), factionalised elites (9.5) and group grievance (9.4). (On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst) 

Troubled borders with India and Afghanistan and political turmoil within the country has also been a flashpoint for many internal clashes with fanatic Islamist groups and modern secular wing.

After a decade of dictatorial rule by former president Pervez Musharraf, the country held its first legitimate democratic elections in 2008.

The military and intelligence wing of the country plays a huge role in deciding country affairs, and often the decisions are in favour of the Islamic militant groups like the Al Qaeda and the Taliban, which have made the country's hilly regions their safe haven.

US, using Pakistan as a base, has launched a war against the Taliban in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, while the country's forces have launched campaigns against the Pakistani Taliban.

Frequent factions between rival political parties, regular conflicts within the tribal regions and in Balochistan has led to instability in the country, forcing many youngsters to seek other shores for education and better careers.

Due to the terror attacks, sectional clashes in the country, Pakistanis, especially those in the northern regions, often go without supplies of essential commodities, water and electricity.

Pakistan's wealth is unevenly distributed -- the poorest 10 per cent of Pakistanis account for four percent of the national income, while the richest 10 percent account for over 26 per cent of the income.

Nearly 30 per cent of the country's budget has been allotted for defence in 2010, though it records a trade deficit of nearly $15 billion in 2008 and has an inflation rate of 20.8 per cent.

There have been nearly 180 minor and major blasts in the country in 2010 itself that have killed about 800 people.

Read more at rediff