Ask any doomsday prepper what their reason for living is, and they'll tell you that it's making sure they're ready for the end of the world.
For them, life as we know it is balanced precariously on a knife edge, and it won't take much for everything to fall into chaos. Whether this future apocalypse is brought on by climate change, nuclear warfare,or a massive solar flare rendering all our technology useless, it presents a very real potential scenario that people generally only imagined happening in fictional Hollywood thrillers. But in the event of a real global cataclysm, is there any place on Earth that would be more suitable for human survival than others? The answer is yes: New Zealand.
This island nation located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean is known for its low population density and is home to six times as many sheep as people. Neither of these qualities are what most people might consider appealing. However, researchers at Britain's Anglia Ruskin University see New Zealand in a different light. After assessing all countries for their land area per capita, distance from other population centers, and potential for renewable energy and agriculture, researchers chose New Zealand as the ideal place to ride out a global societal collapse. The results were published in the journal Sustainability and also list Iceland, Tasmania, and Ireland as possible destinations.
New Zealand is a highly developed country with abundant energy resources and land available for agriculture. These features make it perfect for sustaining civilization. Its potential as a doomsday refuge is no surprise to the local “kiwis,” who have long witnessed foreign billionaires buying up local land in order to build underground survival bunkers.
