Since 1947, a Doomsday clock has been used to predict the end of the world. It started at seven minutes to midnight with midnight representing
global catastrophe. But in January 2018, the clock was moved to two minutes from midnight. It's impossible to watch
the news these days without seeing a mention of increased tension between countries. Many are wondering what
to do or where to go in the event that World War
3 was to actually begin. So let's take a look at
the top 10 safest Countries if WW3 happens. (playful music) Number 10: USA. With the current political climate, it seems very plausible that the USA could instigate WW3, or at the very least be very heavily involved. So why should we think
it is safe to stay there? Well the United States built many of their government buildings
during the Cold War with underground bunkers ready to go, but more importantly,
the US is one of the most heavily defended countries in the world. Any country looking to
attack the US by land is going to have a difficult time due to the highly trained armed forces and a plethora of armed citizens. The United States
anti-missile system is also highly advanced, and located
all around the world, so incoming bombs and missiles would not be able to reach their targets. The US government and military is also extremely secretive, so who
knows what secret weapons we don't even know about in their arsenal. Number 9: Switzerland. Ah Switzerland. The name is synonymous with peace and not picking sides in war. Since 1815 when they were
attacked by Napoleon, they literally have not been
involved in a single war. If WW3 was to break out, the odds are high that Switzerland will not be involved. Why? Well, Switzerland actually has a permanent and self-imposed policy of neutrality. Instead, they are
involved in peace-building processes worldwide, which they would also attempt to do if WW3 began. While Switzerland does
border Germany, France, Austria, and Italy, it has
natural feature that physically separates it from the
outside world: mountains. They form a natural border
for part of the country and contain the National
Redoubt, a series of armed fortifications hidden
throughout the mountains, they were designed specifically
for defensive purposes. Number 8: Australia. Australia has several natural advantages when it comes to
remaining safe during WW3, especially when considering it
from a military perspective. First, it's surrounded
by water and is not near any foreign ports capable
of carrying out an attack. Trying to establish an
amphibious attack on Australia would be a nightmare to execute. Next, the largest urban areas of Australia are very spread throughout the country, so if an aggressor was
trying to bomb Australia, they would have to use
several nuclear weapons to completely take care of
it, and that amount would honestly make the entire
planet uninhabitable. Attacking Australia would
also amount to a logistics nightmare with nobody actually winning. Hopefully, the aggressor
of WW3 is not just trying to destroy the entire planet, otherwise, Australia could
be a great spot to hide out. Number 7: Fiji. Fiji is a popular tourist
destination due to its secluded location, perfect
to escape the stresses of the modern world,
and that also makes it a great hideaway if WW3 were to break out. Fiji is made up of 332 islands which makes the idea of a ground attack
completely implausible. Due to its isolated location,
it would be immensely difficult to get amphibious
troops to the islands. You can put Fiji in the
"not worth it" column when it comes to important
locations for a war. If you like coconuts and think you can catch some fish while the
rest of the world slaughters each other, Fiji might
be the perfect locale to kick up your feet, and not worry about the world collapsing around you. Number 6: Kiribati or
the Marshall Islands. Concerned Fiji is still a little too known and could come under attack? Grab a boat, preferably with a motor, and head about 2,000
miles north to find the intensely isolated Kiribati
and Marshall Islands. How isolated are these islands? Well, they're surrounded by
750,000 square miles of oceans. The United States thought
it was so isolated, that in the 50s, they used the
area to test nuclear weapons, making it a somewhat ironic
place to hide from WW3. But don't worry. Enough time has passed that
the risk of increased radiation from the testing is actually below 1% now. Number 5: New Zealand. New Zealand has a lot of the advantages similar to Australia when it comes to safety during WW3, with
a few extra features that place it higher on this list. New Zealand is ranked number 4 on the Global Peace Index, meaning it's unlikely to be involved in a spat
that could turn into WW3. Also, the island nation's
hydroelectric power takes care of more than half of the country's energy demands, meaning they can easily continue to
power necessary buildings even if cut off by other
countries for other energy sources like coal and oil. Much of the land is fertile as well, so the residents of New
Zealand could easily continue living a comfortable life without contact from the outside world. Not many countries are as
self-sufficient, so most countries would suffer greatly if cut off from vital resources. Number 4: Chile. Located on the southern tip
of South America, sits Chile, and close to its southernmost
point sits Punta Arenas. This beautiful city could be the perfect destination since it's
the city that is the furthest away from every nuclear state. While locations like Fiji or Kiribati are an ideal place to hide
from war, getting there could certainly be an issue. Chile is conveniently
located in a major continent, and connects to the continental mainland of the United States and Canada. It is also a great deal
more accessible by airplane, so it becomes a more reasonable
location to actually get to. If a land based attack can make it over the mountains that line Chile, a last ditch hideaway can be found about 2,000 miles east of Chile on
the historic Easter Island. It may be a hard trip,
but it would be worth it since Easter Island was
picked by a scientist as one of the safest places to retreat to due to its extremely
isolated location far away from armed nuclear powers. This could keep you safe
from nuclear fallout that would accompany WW3. Chile also offers an
opportunity to grab a boat and head further south to another location that we will get to in a bit. Number 3: Greenland. Greenland is technically a
Danish dependent territory. This is important to note because it shows that their political stances
are very much in line with Denmark, which ranks second
on the Global Peace Index. So why are we rushing to
Greenland instead of Denmark? Well Denmark has one very
inconvenient geographical issue... it is connected to mainland Europe. If WW3 were to break
out, it is a guarantee that at least parts of
Europe would be wiped out. Greenland however is
not connected to Europe, and is in fact a good
distance away from it. Greenland is technically
closer to North America, making it an ideal escape for Europeans, Canadians, and Americans. Similarly to New Zealand,
Greenland produces the majority of their energy. About 70% of the energy
consumed in Greenland comes from renewable energy
sources like hydropower, so being cut off from the
world in the event of a war is not a huge concern. Greenland also extends
quite far north, making it a good evacuation point if
nuclear fallout starts to spread due to nuclear detonations
in Europe or North America. Number 2: Iceland. At number 1 on the Global
Peace Index, Iceland is certainly one of the
safest places on this planet. It combines the best attributes from many of the aforementioned countries and brings them together into one perfect locale. While New Zealand and Greenland produce much of their own power,
Iceland outshines them all with an astounding 85%
of their energy produced by renewable energy sources. They similarly use hydropower from their many rivers and waterfalls, but have the added benefit of widespread
geothermal sources. While it may not have
the complete isolation of places like Fiji or Kiribati, it is separated from mainland
Europe, which is definitely and advantage, but it is not too far away to the point that it
becomes almost implausible to actually get there. Iceland is also the
most sparsely populated country in Europe,
meaning it is able to take on a few thousand new
residents hiding out from war. While the old story of
Vikings swapping the expected names for the icy and
green islands they found, the truth is that Iceland
is rather green and fertile. It would be easy to grow
produce, have space to live, and still have electricity, even while the rest of the world was involved in war. Number 1: Antarctica. If Iceland is number 1 on
the Global Peace Index, and it sounds like a veritable paradise, why isn't it number 1? Well, our number 1 pick isn't
technically a country... yet. But if WW3 were to erupt,
we bet there will be so many people joining us in Antarctica, that it will become a country. That's right, our number
1 safest pick of all the places on the planet to hide out during WW3 is Antarctica. Sometimes you have to
look at the situation from a slightly different perspective, and while many of the
countries listed would be good bets, scientists
have shown that Antarctica is actually the best bet. After analyzing the locations
of current nuclear stockpiles from 10 nuclear states,
likelihood of conflicts between them, adding in
some risk trajectories, and then throwing in some
numerical weather predictions... Well... the results were... not so good. The crude estimate shows
that most of the world is in a lot of trouble. Antarctica on the other hand, is miles from anywhere, and is also the location of the world's first
nuclear arms agreement. The Antarctic Treaty
signed in 1959 bans the detonation of all nuclear
weapons in Antarctica. So how do we get there? Well remember that city in Chile? Punta Arenas? It is located right on
the ocean, and is where many current Antarctic
expeditions depart from. So here's the plan: we can
meet up in Punta Arenas, grab some delicious Malbec,
get some ultra warm clothing, and head to Antarctica. While it may seem like a
hard locale to live in, it's been done before. The arctic circle was home
to an extensive bunker called "the city under
the ice" that was built during the Cold War, so the same could easily be done in Antarctica Will you be joining us there? Or hiding out somewhere warmer like Fiji? Or do you have a spot that
we didn't even think of? Let us know in the comments below! And thanks for watching! (playful music)
