Jake Sisko in a Time to Stand

Over the few years since the pilot, Bajor got its act together... to the point that they were about to be be admitted entrance into the Federation. Only Sisko and his visions stopped Bajor from signing the membership, which ultumately saved them from being the first fallen world of the Alpha Quadrant to the Dominion.

 

That doesn't invalidate my point it basically confirms it.

 

The Cardassians pretty much spent their final days to leave Bajor in as weak and poor state as they could. It had some quite severe difficulties in those early years post-occupation.

 

A lot of weird stuff happens in Star Trek everyday. The commander of the station on his first day on the job found both a stable wormhole to the gamma quadrant and the noncorporeal nonlinear aliens who built it, who have been directly or indirectly influencing a world for 10000 years, and then five years later those same aliens give the commander real super powers so that he can see the future, and you think the Bajorans are a "basket case" for believing him?!

 

They were economically and politically-they were on the verge of civil war, their agricultural provinces were apparently devastated, their politicians divided and weak.

So yes they were a basket case.

 

Don't forget BAL'HALA(House of Baal?) A 20,000 year old city that was sought out by Bajoran archeologists for 10,000 years. Sisko finding it in a few days was so profound that even Kai Winn had to admit "He truly is the Emissary."