The Ungoverned World
The violence and chaos inside Syria, where Islamic State terrorists and other rebel groups control large portions of the country, is so dire that millions of people have fled and the U.N. has stopped trying to keep count of the dead. Yet Syria is just one of many places across the globe where warlords, separatists, drug cartels, or terror groups have seized territory within a sovereign nation, leaving the government with little or no power—and the people to fend for themselves.
4,194,203
Killed since start of conflicts
30,847,773
Internally displaced persons
Kabul
Kandahar
Herat
Afghanistan
HINDU-KUSH
Islamabad
Peshawar
Kunduz
Quetta
Turkmenistan
Iran
India
Tajikistan
Pakistan
Armed
attack
Border
Poppy
cultivation
Ungoverned
region
Bossangoa
Ndele
Bangui
Central African Republic
Sudan
Chad
Cameroon
South Sudan
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ungoverned
region
Instability
Diamond mine
Cali
Medellin
Barranquilla
Bogota
Panama
Venezuela
Peru
Brazil
Ecuador
Colombia
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Land mine
explosions,
2013-2015
Instability
Coca
cultivation
Kinshasa
Brazzaville
Bumba
Kisangani
Lake
Victoria
Lake
Tanganyika
Mbandaka
Tanzania
Angola
Uganda
Burundi
Rwanda
Congo
Dem. Rep.
of Congo
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Port Said
Suez
Alexandria
Cairo
Egypt
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Red Sea
SINAI
PENINSULA
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Calcutta
Patna
New Delhi
India
China
Nepal
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Ganges
Arabian Sea
Bay
of
Bengal
Hyderabad
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Instability
Mosul
Aleppo
Baghdad
Damascus
Turkey
Jordan
Syria
Iraq
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Oil fields
Tobruk
Sirte
Bayda
Benghazi
Misratah
Tripoli
Niger
Libya
Tunisia
Chad
Algeria
Egypt
Mediterranean Sea
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Migrant route
Instability
Mexico City
Chihuahua
Hermosillo
Guadalajara
Mexico
Guatemala
United States
Gulf
of
Mexico
Ungoverned
region
Drug trade
Instability
Armed
attack
Mandalay
Sittwe
Naypyitaw
China
India
Myanmar
Thailand
Laos
Bangladesh
Andaman Sea
Bay of Bengal
Armed
attack
Instability
Ungoverned
region
Opium
cultivation
Maiduguri
Lagos
Abuja
Niger
Nigeria
Chad
Benin
Cameroon
L. Chad
Niger R.
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Instability
Zamboanga
Davao
Philippines
Mindanao
Celebes Sea
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
South
China
Sea
Thailand
Malaysia
Malaysia
Indonesia
Indonesia
Strait of
Malacca
Armed
attack
Ungoverned
region
2015 Hijackings/
boardings