Planet Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years and seems set to be around for billions
more to come.
While the rock that we reside on is somewhat of a sure thing, humans have laid claims to
all corners of the earth and sea, carving it up into various different countries and
territories.
Even at this stage in human development, countries are still forming, but on the flip side, some
are collapsing.
Which are the most at risk?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, the channel that likes to answer
a plethora of queries from the irreverent to the actual, pretty pressing.
I am your host, Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking Which countries may not survive
the next 20 years?
Before we delve deep into this video, I want to ask you what country you are from and if
you have ever moved countries!
I am from England, but I moved to Canada three years ago.
Also, if you like our content, make sure you show us by giving it a good thumbs up.
So…countries.
The concept of boarders is so classically human.
Can you imagine animals abiding by such a political notion!
The oldest countries in the world are China and Japan.
China was established in 221 BCE and Japan in 660 BCE, although both countries have had
modern revamps.
The youngest country is South Sudan which gained independence in 2011.
I have a globe in my living room from the 1970s, and would be surprised how much has
changed over the past 40 years!
When it comes to the destruction of countries, there are two ways this can happen – natural
disaster, or political collapse.
Our first county is the only one on in this video which is at risk of a natural catastrophe
– and that is The Maldives.
The Maldives gained independence from the UK in 1965, but these days they are sinking.
The islands were hit hard by the Christmas Tsunami of 2004 and are at great risk in the
rising ocean levels.
The popular honeymoon spot could be lost to the water in 10 years, and fully submerged
in 80.
Right now the government are working on an emergency plan.
Next we have the Ukraine, which is under huge threat from debt and from their less friendly
relations with their Russian neighbours.
The Ukraine only formed in 1991 in the fall of the Soviet Union and it is in 5 billion
dollars of public debt as well as 40 billion dollars of private debt.
Not only that, Russia annexed part of their land, Crimea in March 2014 without much world
wide backlash.
Who seriously would want to step in against Putin in he set his sights on reclaiming former
USSR land in the Ukraine.
Stepping up against Russia would make another country vulnerable to collapse if enough Russian
Nukes were aimed at it, although I am sure it wouldn’t come to that…but the threat
is enough to keep people at bay.
Also majorly in debt, Greece are struggling to keep it together right now.
Greece has been around for centuries, so perhaps legacy is enough to keep them alive.
Libya is in a big danger of collapse…Libya was formed in 1947 out of political intent
rather than nationalism and a lot of global analysts consider people of Libya to be more
loyal to various tribal groups than their own government, which is corrupt.
One country almost certain to fall in the next 20 years is North Korea…
although I have to say, Kim Jong Un’s recent display of playing nice and is a little more
positive for the future of the nation.
The fate of North Korea, formed from conflict in 1948, lays in Kim Jong Un’s ability to
behave like a respectful statesman.
If he continues to test nuclear weapons, the rest of the world wont like that.
If he ever fires one, well that is curtains form Kim – although what would happen next
to the land, well.. that is a much bigger question.
Perhaps there is the possibility for peace and unity with North and South Korea, although
the further they continue, the wider removed they become culturally.
Okay, moving this close to home, we have The United Kingdom.
So as you are probably aware, the UK is not one but four countries England, Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland.
The Union has existed in some form or another since the mid 1700s.
There has been an understandably tempestuous relationship over the years with the main
body of land and Ireland.
Scotland stage a referendum to decided whether to leave in 2014, but voted to stay.
Further issues have arisen since 2016 and the controversial Brexit vote with Scotland
and Northern Ireland especially unhappy with being pulled out of a union.
Reports I get from back home is that the Isles are amid particular political upheaval and
nobody is sure of the future.
The world’s super powers, The United States, Russia and China seem invincible, however
the bigger the power, the harder the fall if anything were to go south.
If the USA and Russia, for example, ever erupted into hot war - well both Putin and Trump have
boasted they could wipe one another off the world map.
Let’s hope that that never happens, because the implications and knock on effect from
such an event could end more than one or two countries.
Throughout history, we have learned that nothing will make or break a country or change a boarder
like a war!
Realistically, there are only a handful of countries that could cease to maintain their
flag over the next 20 years, fingers crossed for peace and a lack of natural disasters
to force any other changes.
It is possible that we could see the formation of new countries, though – perhaps in the
next 20 years we will see Catalonia and Veneto.
For now, I think Quebec is safe in Canada, but had you asked 20 years ago…maybe the
mood would have been different.
SO, what countries do you think may not survive the next 20 years?
Let me know.
Also don’t forget to let me know what country you come from.
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