In Fact

• In post-genocide Rwanda, the number of government-sponsored students has risen 250% and the public budget for the subsector has grown 340% (from Education in Rwanda by The World Bank).
   
• 60% of countries rated "low" on the Human Development Index have been involved in conflicts since 1990 (United Nations Development Programme).
   
• An increase in average male tertiary schooling of .09 years raises annual GDP growth by .5% a year.
   
• An estimated 1 billion people live in fragile or conflicted-affected countries. These countries account for one-third of all 12-year-olds who did not complete a primary education in 2005 (The World Bank).
   
• Fragile states also impact nations with which they share a border. Neighboring nations lose 1.6% of their GDP every year simply because of their proximity to a fragile state. (Chauvet & Collier, 2004).
   

Mapping Failed States

The included map was created by the Fund for Peace (www.fundforpeace.org), an international non-profit focused on promoting sustainable security. The purpose of the map is to highlight the geographic distribution of failed or failing/fragile states globally. The Fund for Peace categorizes countries based on the political, economic, and social stability of the nation. According to Pauline Baker, President of the Fund for Peace, "violence is erupting predominantly within societies in which the state-the central locus of authority and power-is disintegrating. Failing states cannot sustain essential public services, promote equitable economic growth or provide for the public welfare." CHEPA recognizes the impact that failed states have on our world and will focus research on the role that postsecondary institutions can play in rebuilding failed states.