On June 18, 2012, the Fund for Peace released the eighth edition of its annual Failed States Index highlighting global political, economic and social pressures experienced by states. In the 2012 Failed States Index, Somalia was ranked as the most troubled state for the 5th straight year with its widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks against foreign vessels. Meanwhile, Finland has remained in the best position, where Scandinavian neighbors Sweden and Denmark rounding out the best three rankings. All three nations benefit from strong social and economic indicators, paired with excellent provision of public services and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The Failed States Index ranks 177 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. 

As for Mongolia, the country was listed in 129th place with a score of 58.7. However Mongolia is considered as a "Stable" country but fell 2 steps down compared to last year's index. In the Failed States Index of 2005 and 2006, Mongolia was not included in the index, where only 76 countries were and in the 2006 Index there were 146 states surveyed. In the Failed States Index of 2007, Mongolia was ranked in 132nd out of 177 countries with a score of 58.4, in 2008 - 133 (57.8), 2009 - 127 (61.9), 2010 - 129 (60.1), and in 2011 in 127th with a score of 59.6 respectively.