Inside the world's most fragile country

Despite years of horrific civil war and mass migrations, Syria was not determined to be the most fragile state in the world over the past year.

Instead, the Fund for Peace placed the dubious honor of being the world's least-stable country on the war-torn African nation of Somalia in its annual Fragile States Index. And unfortunately, it is not difficult to understand why Somalia tops the list as the most fragile state in the world.

Somalia has not had a functioning nationwide government since a civil war tore the country apart in 1991. According to the index, the country has bottom scores for human rights and factionalized elites, and near-bottom scores for security and the problems associated with refugees.

And according to the CIA World Factbook, Somalia has the third-highest infant-mortality rate and maternal-mortality rate, and total life expectancy is estimated to be only 51.96 years at birth. The country is also hosting a small number of Yemeni refugees, has over a million displaced people of its own, and continues to face a brutal insurgency from the Al Qaeda affiliated Al Shabaab.

The pictures below provide a glimpse into life in Somalia.