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Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah
Emir of Kuwait

Date of birth: June 6, 1929

Years in power: 5 (emir since January 2006, but had been de facto ruler since being made prime minister in 2003, when both former emir, Sheikh Jaber, and former prime minister, Sheikh Saad, were in too poor health to govern)

Rank on Failed States Index: No. 124, “borderline”

Progeny: When asked about the number of children and grandchildren the emir has, a spokeswoman at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C., said, “That is a complicated question.” News reports reveal he has one deceased daughter, but beyond that, the number of children and grandchildren couldn’t be confirmed.

Health status: The Kuwaiti royal family rarely releases health information, but the emir does have a pacemaker and some say he has some health problems.

Next in line: Crown Prince Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah

ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images

Raúl Castro
President of Cuba

Date of birth: June 3, 1931

Years in power: 2 (president since February 2008, but had been de facto president since July 2006 when his brother, Fidel Castro, transferred power to him due to failing health)

Rank on Failed States Index: No. 77, “borderline”

Progeny: 3 daughters and 1 son; 8 grandchildren, according to a June 2007 New York Times obituary about Raúl’s wife

Health status: Raúl is addicted to alcohol and has been a heavy drinker since his teenage years, according to research by Brian Latell, an expert on Cuba at the University of Miami.

Next in line: Some names floated after Fidel stepped down from power include Carlos Lage, Ricardo Alarcón, Felipe Pérez Roque, Ramiro Valdés, and Esteban Lazo, all of whom have held high-level government positions.

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Mwai Kibaki
President of Kenya

Date of birth: Nov. 15, 1931

Years in power: 5, since December 2002

Rank on Failed States Index: No. 31, “in danger”

Progeny: Officially, 3 sons, 1 daughter, and 6 grandchildren. Additionally, on a continent where polygamy isn’t unusual, there is a daughter from a co-wife. Kibaki’s office, however, put out an unsigned statement—widely attributed to the president’s first wife—asking the press to “kindly refrain from making references about any other purported member of my immediate family.”

Health status: Kibaki was hospitalized with a blood clot and high blood pressure in January 2003, following a broken leg he suffered in a December 2002 automobile accident. He had to cancel many appearances at the beginning of his first term, which thus started his presidency on a sour note. He remains an avid golfer.

Next in line: If opposition leader Raila Odinga had his way, he’d be president, a position he lost in December 2007’s election, which he said was rigged in favor of Kibaki. Now, under a power-sharing agreement, Odinga is to be prime minister.

PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India

Date of birth: Sept. 26, 1932

Years in power: 4, since his election in May 2004

Rank on Failed States Index: No. 110, “borderline”

Progeny: 3 daughters and 3 grandsons

Health status: Still going strong. No ailments have been widely reported, and astrologers’ predictions that Singh would develop serious health problems by the end of September 2004 apparently didn’t materialize.

Next in line: In the world’s largest democracy, it’s anybody’s guess.

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Than Shwe
Chair of the State Peace and Development Council of Burma

Date of birth: Feb. 2, 1933

Years in power: 16, since April 1992 after the country’s previous military ruler stepped down due to ill health

Rank on Failed States Index: No. 14, “critical”

Progeny: 3 daughters, 1 son, and at least 3 grandchildren

Health status: Shwe is widely believed to suffer from diabetes and hypertension. His health is deteriorating, with dementia, heart problems, and a stroke taking their toll, say Burmese government sources quoted anonymously in the press. In January 2007, Shwe was hospitalized in Singapore for two weeks, possibly for cancer, and missed Independence Day celebrations for the first time since he was in power. Many Burmese think Shwe’s ailments are bad karma he generated from his ruthless crackdown on protesting monks last year.

Next in line: The military junta’s No. 3 man, Shwe Mann, is seen as the likely successor.

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*Editor’s Note: The original entry on Robert Mugabe included this sentence: “A Boston Globe op-ed does mention that the United States has placed a travel ban on an unspecified number of his grandchildren.” The Globe article is ambiguous, but given the youth of Mugabe’s children, it appears unlikely they have children of their own.