Worlddata.info
Oppression in pariah states

The 11 current pariah states

Pariah states are those states that are considered outcasts because of their government. Anyone who does not abide by international rules or refuses to cooperate with the international community in wide areas must expect sanctions. Many of the former and current pariah states owe their classification to their autocratic rule, under which their own people suffer.

The 11 countries listed here have a total of 223.41 million inhabitants and thus account for 2.8 percent of the world's population.
world map Pariah States
CountryRegionAreaPopulation
BelarusEastern Europe207,600 km²9.3 M
Equatorial GuineaCentral Africa28,050 km²1.6 M
EritreaEastern Africa117,600 km²3.6 M
IsraelWestern Asia22,070 km²9.4 M
KosovoSouthern Europe10,887 km²1.8 M
MyanmarSoutheast Asia676,590 km²53.8 M
North KoreaEast Asia120,540 km²26.0 M
SudanNorthern Africa1,879,358 km²45.7 M
SyriaWestern Asia185,180 km²21.3 M
UzbekistanCentral Asia447,400 km²34.9 M
ZimbabweEastern Africa390,760 km²16.0 M


Pariah states vs. rogue states

The term pariah state is closely related to the word "rogue state" coined by George W: Bush. Unlike rogue states, pariah states do not have a fixed definition, but only characteristics that indicate possible violations. These include, above all, the production and use of weapons of mass destruction, tolerating terrorism, a lack of freedom of expression and democracy and violations of human rights. Unlike rogue states, a pariah state does not necessarily pose a threat to other states. Instead, the grievances are often directed only against one's own population.

Who is considered a pariah state is also not uniformly defined. Even the German Wikipedia names different countries compared to the Spanish Wikipedia. The English Wikipedia does not mention any countries at all and only lists their characteristics.

Georgia, Iran, Northern Cyprus, Uganda and Venezuela are also often mentioned. What most definitions have in common is that states such as China and Cuba are often discussed, but are never excluded as pariah states. The "Republic of China" (so Taiwan) also appears occasionally. In addition to the states considered independent, certain territories are also considered outcasts. These include Abkhazia, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Somaliland, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

Key figures in comparison

(All figures weighted according to population share.)
 Pariah StatesWorldUSA
Total population571.1 m7.9 bn331.9 m
GNP per capita4,407 USD12,023 USD70,930 USD
Government debt (% of GDP)64.5 %93.9 %115.3 %
Unemployment rate11.3 %6.2 %5.5 %
Literacy rate84.3 %86.8 %0.0 %
Electricity access80.9 %90.4 %100.0 %
Birth rate22.0 ‰17.2 ‰10.9 ‰
Life expectancy69.4 years72.3 years77.3 years




Former Pariah States

Rogue StatesList of the 4 current Rogue StatesList of the 4 evil countries, marked as rogue states by the US an posing a threat to other states.
Comparison: corruptionComparison: Corruption worldwideThe poorer the worse: A ranking of corruption over 118 countries. USA ranks 23rd.
tax havensList of the world's most notorious tax havensTax havens magically attract money and hide it from the tax authorities. Even in the middle of Europe and the USA.