Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq top index of weak states

Somalia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq are the four weakest states in the world, according to an index of fragile nations released by two U.S. think tanks on Tuesday.

The Brookings Institution and the Center for Global Development ranked 141 developing countries according to their performance in four core areas -- economic, political, security and social welfare.

Using those indicators, Somalia, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo headed the list and were designated as "failed states." They were followed by Iraq, Burundi, Sudan, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

"Given the role that weak states can play as incubators and breeding grounds for transnational security threats, building state capacity ... should be a higher priority for U.S. policy," said the report.