which nations are best "equipped" to survive the ZPAW

[gelgoog]

Spontaneous uprising of the dead around the world. Which countries do you think have what it takes to survive? and which do you think will completely wiped out.


Explain you reasoning for your choice due. whether it be geography, restrictive laws, population density, active standing army, cold war relics...whatever it may be. No politics please

[ausher]

Tribes in south America and africa and other similar countires who have tribes living just as they did thousands of years ago that is pretty much shut off from the outside world. The average human wouldn't have much of a chance survivng in the jungle so zombies wouldn't have a chance at all. Unless they get eaten and are able to infect the wildlife and zombie panthers, tigers, and elephants are running rampant through the jungles.....

[dukman]

And still remain a country?? NONE. Unless zombies really can't function in cold weather, then maybe Switzerland, Norway and such. A zombie infection will no know boundaries. There will be pockets of survivors all over the world.

[Dannyboy]

Any island nation will be ideal. Zombies walking across the seafloor are gonna run into some serious problems.
I'd put a good bet on Ireland or Iceland. Colder weather and oceans will slow zombies way down.

[gelgoog]

And still remain a country?? NONE. Unless zombies really can't function in cold weather, then maybe Switzerland, Norway and such. A zombie infection will no know boundaries. There will be pockets of survivors all over the world.

There are so many factors to consider.

Countries like switzerland with a high number of armed and military trained individuals would probably fare well in themselves. They would likely form up quickly in cohesive groups of survivors and wrestle control from the undead. The geographical location of switzerland would also aid it for a while. However one has to consider that they are surrounded but other countries who aren't likely to fare as well, so switzerland may find itself in the midst of a huge invasion once its neighboring countries have been overwhelmed. However that time advantage might just be the difference allowing them to setup barriers and choke points....really the only big worry is running out of supplies.

Isreal is another good one, which has practically been at a state of war since its existence. They along with switzerland might be the two nations which come out of such a world wide catastrophe relatively unscathed and with their governments still in tact.

Any island nation will be ideal. Zombies walking across the seafloor are gonna run into some serious problems.
I'd put a good bet on Ireland or Iceland. Colder weather and oceans will slow zombies way down.

The only complication for island nations is their population size and dependency on imports. Ireland might be able to sustain itself but hopefully it is not overwhelmed by british refugees sailing in. England itself has too many people with to little space for growing the needed crops to sustain itself, it would be a bad example of an island nation.

[ausher]

If they are able to infect wildlife then islands wouldn't survive either. A zombie falls in the ocean and drowns and the sealife feeds off it's body then infect other aquatic life by attacking or being attact. I think it would only take mabey 5 years before all of mankind is wiped out or dies off.

[gelgoog]

If they are able to infect wildlife then islands wouldn't survive either. A zombie falls in the ocean and drowns and the sealife feeds off it's body then infect other aquatic life by attacking or being attact. I think it would only take mabey 5 years before all of mankind is wiped out or dies off.

this is true, but lets assume it only affects humans. There are plenty of horrible viruses/diseases that are specific to only one species and can not be transmitted to others.

[ausher]

If they are able to infect wildlife then islands wouldn't survive either. A zombie falls in the ocean and drowns and the sealife feeds off it's body then infect other aquatic life by attacking or being attact. I think it would only take mabey 5 years before all of mankind is wiped out or dies off.

this is true, but lets assume it only affects humans. There are plenty of horrible viruses/diseases that are specific to only one species and can not be transmitted to others.

ok then. I'll stick with ancient jungle people. They will be protected by the wildlife. Even on an island. A infects human can probably slip by on a boat, plane, or a submarine.

[Shep45]

I would agree that switzerland may do ok. And as a self-realized jingoist, I assume that the US will be fine. Seriously though, either everyone, everywhere will be screwed, or people the world over would handle it better than movies have taught us to believe. Definately will not be the ubiquitous 20 people left in the world scenario. The reason I say that is if it were, then see option A, as that is not nearly enough people to survive, repopulate, and flourish. All of course MHO.

[maldon007]

I used to think maybe the third world would be best equiped, since they are living close to that level already (as someone stated above I think). But the more I see what happens in those places when actual disasters happen, the more I think that aint right. It would probably be the countries that already deal well with natural disasters, probably the more advanced ones, with lots of roads & large economies, that would do best. The type of people who live there would matter a lot too I think, countries who's people are the most self reliant would do best. Ones with citizens who rely on the government more, would do worse, imo.

[gelgoog]

I would agree that switzerland may do ok. And as a self-realized jingoist, I assume that the US will be fine. Seriously though, either everyone, everywhere will be screwed, or people the world over would handle it better than movies have taught us to believe. Definately will not be the ubiquitous 20 people left in the world scenario. The reason I say that is if it were, then see option A, as that is not nearly enough people to survive, repopulate, and flourish. All of course MHO.

I do think you are correct in that the world would do better then we might believe. a lot of nations have militaries that assuming they don't fall apart during the initial outbreak could hold their own quite well. However a lot of these places have almost completely unarmed populations which are heavily reliant on the government. So I suspect that the militaries in these areas would fare ok while the civilian populations would almost entirely be destroyed.

Where as in places like the US which has a large number of armed citizenry along with a powerful military mean that wrestling control in most areas would probably happen much quicker then we all think. Armed militas would be running around while the armed forces would likely organized to protect the southern border and clear out some of the problem states ( ex. california). I imagine Hawaii and Alaska would be completely wiped out due to starvation or zombies.


There however are a lot of countries who would likely be hit hard losing 75% of their populations before they wrestled control only to be geographically in a bad position to them get invaded by gigantic hoardes flowing across their boarders.

[shrapnel]

Moved to Zombie Combat Tactics.

[dukman]

I really don't know how to answer your question without straying into politics... Mods delete my answer if you feel the need

If the USA can't protect its borders from Illegal Aliens, how can we protect it from zombies?

I see movies like 28 weeks later the more probable outcome. They get a perimeter set up, and it just takes one idiot to either breach the city walls.

[gelgoog]

I really don't know how to answer your question without straying into politics... Mods delete my answer if you feel the need

If the USA can't protect its borders from Illegal Aliens, how can we protect it from zombies?

I see movies like 28 weeks later the more probable outcome. They get a perimeter set up, and it just takes one idiot to either breach the city walls.

saying the US can't protect its boarders is a bit misleading. Given the mobilization of the military and citizenry you can bet that our boarders could be much better protected. However at this time there are political forces keeping up from sealing up the boarder.

[shrapnel]

Damnit, man, boarders != borders.

[Richter]

wow, never thought about it like that gelgoog.

well I'd have to say the US, at least parts of it. For example Hawaii:

They have very rich soil due to its volcanic roots.
They have several mountains that could serve as lookout/observation points.
They are separated from land by a few thousand miles.
Not sure about their gun laws but they can definitely have some to defend themselves with

at the first sign of trouble, I can foresee the island stopping flights and ships to and from the island. They make their own power so they could still communicate with the outside world, or what is left of it.

So my vote is Hawaii. Just an uneducated opinion/answer

[gridwerk]

Haiti- theyve been dealing with zombies for as long as theyve been around and they seem to be just fine.

[Richter]

Haiti- theyve been dealing with zombies for as long as theyve been around and they seem to be just fine.

hmmm....

[Mr. E. Monkey]

No. Zombies aren't real. Blah blah blah.

Aside from Madagascar? I think a few factors would play in:

Overall population/population density (lower=better, I think)
Proximity to densely/heavily populated neighbors
Agricultural production (a country that imports 80-90% of its food is probably screwed in a ZPAW event)
Natural disasters?
Socio-political stuff (gun ownership, military service, relationships with neighbors, all that stuff)

Despite a few of these factors, I think Israel would probably do fairly well. Maybe Australia.

[doc savage]

USA, without a doubt.
gun ownership, available food resources, propensity to violence, will to survive
you'll be suprised at the type and quantity of hardware that would roll out of your quiet neighbors' basemants. zombie infection wouldn't last a week here. how many of us stack deep, and have friends that do likewise? sure it would be ugly at first, as people restrain themselves, in the hope that police and guard could handle the problem alone ( which i have no doubt of). but once it gets beyond that level, the US is best equipped to handle that situation. we're still a nation of gunfighters and frontiersmen, despite what the soft cities may make it seem. best armed citizens in the world, overwhelming determination to do the right thing, enough ammo to do it.

it would, however, take years to stop all the shooting and " he was a zombie" murders that would take place during and afterward. people are people, and when the population suddenly realizes it's a free for all " you can get away with shooting zombies / ex-neighbors / people you hate / any chosen enemy / cops that hate you, etc. , " during the chaos relatively blame free, that's where your problem starts. ( but officer, he was shuffling funny....). i think that, though this wouldn't solely be a US problem, it would be magnified here, as all other things seem to be, by whatever media may survive.

[shrapnel]

Ahem. That last sentence there was a little much.

[doc savage]

true, but deleted. america has a history of volunteer divisions.

[ZombieGranny]

Part of it would depend on how many dead arise compared to the live population.
All those mummies coming out of the museums, mausoleums and graveyards emptying, etc. The U.S. has only been around for a few hundred years, but Egypt say... has thousands of years of dead people.

I'm getting cremated, thank you very much... no coming back for me.

[gelgoog]

Part of it would depend on how many dead arise compared to the live population.
All those mummies coming out of the museums, mausoleums and graveyards emptying, etc. The U.S. has only been around for a few hundred years, but Egypt say... has thousands of years of dead people.

I'm getting cremated, thank you very much... no coming back for me.

well I wouldn't count on anything rising from a proper grave. Besides most of those preserved mummies are extremely brittle (oh and all their organs including their brains were taken out as part of the mummification process....so they are pretty much a non-issue if we go by zombie cannon).