Imagine as a thought experiment that that you could be somehow determine which country where you could be born in at this moment. You would be born in this country as an "average" or "median" citizen of that country. Thus you would not be born to the top 10% or the bottom 10% of families but "exactly" at the 50% median or average level. Therefore your race, religion, socio-economic situation, at least while growing up and until you became an adult on your own would be "average". Considering present as well as potential future considerations, which one country would you want to most avoid being born in, knowing you would be born at the median level? I suppose this question might also need to be asked separately for whether you would be born a boy or girl as that could make a big difference as well in some cases. Would that be North Korea? Some lawless place like Somalia? Worn torn and strife ridden Iraq or Afghanistan? Or perhaps some even bleaker place that I have not even heard of. You have to consider that you would be born in that country "right now" so it isn't a question of where you'd rather least want to move to but which country has the best mix of present and future possibilities for being born in and growing up "right now". Reply With Quote
Right now? The worst place to be born right now, is by far Zimbabwe. I cover it as part of my job. The place has 2000% inflation. People with salaried jobs can't afford bus fare. Infrastructure is collapsing, there are police shooting people for trying to illegally mine for diamonds and gold, the government is extremely corrupt and shoots opponents in the street, and if you can find food, it's only on the black market, and only a few millionaires can afford it. People are checking dying family members anonymously into hospitals because no one can afford medical care and to avoid having to pay the costs associated with burial. Meanwhile a few government officals are getting rich from illegal gold and diamond smuggling. Average people are eating rats.
one of the african countries like Zimbabwe, somalia or ethiopia it is not being born in a country that does not have enough food.
if the girls make it that far. the situation there is so depressing. if you're a boy, they give you an uzi before you're 10 and hae you killing people, and if you're a little girl...ugh
Depends which part of Sudan you're talking about. You can live a pretty 'normal' life in many parts of Sudan. It's a pretty large country. So I am guessing you're referring mostly to the conflict zones there. Otherwise, Sudan is not unique amongst African nations in terms of child soldiers. Zimbabwe, Somalia, Congo and North Korea are all places that wouldn't be too pleasant to live in.
A lot of crappy places to be born out there but my vote for the worst would be Congo. Its got it all, war, corruption, unstable government, virtually non-existant economy, almost no infrastructure, AIDS, Ebola and a whole bunch of diseases that almost no one ever hears of. At this point most of Sub-Saharan and the Horn of Africa countries top the list of the worst places to live.
I have a friend who was born and Sierra Leone and his family escaped when he was about 12. He wouldn't watch the movie Blood Diamond.
I would say that the USA is the top or certainly among the top five to be born in to if you come from a wealthy family. Probably the worst among the top twenty GDP/person countries if you are middle middle class. (Certainly still a great gig if you are upper middle). I would certainly say the very worst among the top twenty GDP/person countries for those of the lower middle class and poorer sections of society.
Yeah, can we do best country to be born in or something? As for worst places, I'd argue taking North Korea off the list. They aren't doing great right now, what with the repression, backward economy, starvation, etc. However, they have a high literacy rate, strong rule of law, and, once the communist government finally collapses, the support of South Korea. They also stand to profit from their relationship with China at that point. The crown has to go to one of the African countries. The only question would be which one.
Are you serious? I've lived in the South Central LA and all that stuff. And no- it is not that bad there. My neighbors actually had, among other things: 1. food to eat on a daily basis. 2. water to drink 3. cars or access to public transportation 4. plumbing 5. electricity 6. freedom to say "I hate GW Bush. He sucks." ... this list can go on and on. Come on people - don't exaggerate how bad the poorer folks in this country have it. Can things be improved? I would certainly hope so. I know you say top 20, etc. - but to even include the US on a list with places like the Congo, Sierra Leone, North Korea. et. al. is plain ridiculous.
Except that the poorest Americans have a better chance at becoming the richest Americans than in any other country in the world. D&D. Opportunity rocks!
