10 Countries with Political and Civil Unrest in 2017

Turkey ranks number one in our list of 10 countries with political and civil unrest in 2017. Though Turkey was considered one of the most politically and economically advanced Muslim countries, its situation has deteriorated in the recent past. President Erdogan has started to increasingly show dictatorial tendencies and has purged the opposition after a failed coup in 2016. The war in Syria has negatively affected the country, with millions of refugees crossing the border, while fighting with the Kurds has surged after a crackdown by Turkish forces. The instability has been further heightened by repeated Islamic State attacks on the country, which included a major terrorist attack on Istanbul’s airport.

The iShares MSCI Turky Invstbl Mrkt Indx Fnd (NYSEARCA:TUR), which is an ETF replicating the performance of the MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index, has underperformed the broader market over the last year, falling by 4%. With the continued economic issues, this ETF is probably best avoided by investors in 2017 as well.