Romania ranks second to bottom in the EU for stability, ahead of only Cyprus and below Bulgaria, due to strong political economic and social pressures, according to the Failed States Index( FSI) compiled by the Fund for Peace organization.

Even if is the most vulnerable among EU countries, Romania, with an overall score of 59.5 points, down slightly from last year, has advanced its global position to 126th place for stability.

The 2012 FSI ranks Somalia as world's most unstable state for the fifth year running. According to the study, Somalia has it all, widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, war, crime, and, of course, piracy on the country's seas.

Meanwhile Scandinavia is deemed the best place in the world for stability, Finland remains the most stable, while Sweden and Denmark take the silver and the bronze respectively. All three have strong social and economic indicators, 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.

Romania's latest statistic of shame was helped along by vengeful politics, poverty, deterioration of state services, and, worryingly, human rights issues.

Greece continued to decline as the economic crisis has gripped the country. A loss of confidence in the state, coinciding with the state’s lessened capacity to provide public services, have led to growing social pressures.

Romania was Central and Eastern Europe's, with its 126th world ranking ( 1= least stable, 177 = most stable ). Other states in the region were ranked: Bulgaria (130), Latvia (136), Greece (138), Hungary (141), Estonia (143), Slovakia (144), Poland (148), Lithuania (149) Czech Republic (155), Slovenia (161) and Austria (161)

The complete ranking for 2012 is available here.

Ioana Toader, ioana.toader@romania-insider.com