# Are there any countries without beggars ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103 "2013-03-27T15:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/41 "2013-03-28T12:39:33Z")
I don’t remember seeing any in NZ, but I’m sure they’re around somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/42 "2013-03-28T12:53:07Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I know, I know. I should say, they don’t threaten you, just that maybe it’s better to pay up. I don’t know if “squeegee men” are over there, guys who “clean” your car window first with dirty squeegee, and seek money after. Similar thing: you might pay them to get them away from your car This used to be a thing but it’s years since I last saw it. People do sell newspapers at traffic lights though. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/43 "2013-03-28T15:25:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Vatican City. Those are buggerers, not beggars. I have not seen a beggar in Singapore. Maybe they’d get caned. Not sure I’ve seen one in Vietnam or Laos now that I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/44 "2013-03-28T18:48:29Z")
Anyone been to Qatar? Are there down and out people there? ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/45 "2013-03-28T19:15:20Z")
I didn’t see any in North Korea or the Maldives (I stayed in the capital, Malé, not on a resort island). ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/46 "2013-03-29T04:12:34Z")
> [@Rama](#): > > According to the Kim’s or in [reality](http://www.snkr.org/stories/personal/personal.html)? Thanks for the link. That is one of the saddest things that I have ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/47 "2013-03-29T04:28:45Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Anyone been to Qatar? Are there down and out people there? No beggars that I saw but many of the low-paid laborers are living in quite poor conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/48 "2013-04-20T07:50:02Z")
We got hit up by a Japanese beggar last week, and I didn’t know they existed. At Shibuya Station in Tokyo. We’d been in town a couple of days and had the subway and JR systems figured out, but while looking at the board to see how much the fare was back to the Ueno area, this Japanese guy starts showing us how to use the ticket machines. He was distinctly _too_ friendly, which, after living in Thailand, sets off all sorts of warning bells. Sure enough, after he finished showing us how to use the machines, he asked us for 200 yen. I told him to get lost or I’d find a cop. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/49 "2013-04-20T14:55:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > What about Monaco? Monaco’s beggars are anyone who’s merely a millionaire. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/50 "2013-04-20T16:41:27Z")
Canada most definitely has beggars, though they seemed whiter than the typical US beggar crowd. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/51 "2013-04-20T17:13:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We got hit up by a Japanese beggar last week, and I didn’t know they existed. At Shibuya Station in Tokyo. I’ve come across exactly one beggar in Japan, in a busy shopping street in Osaka (Shinsaibashi-suji). If it were not for that one incident, I would have offered Japan as an example in answer to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/52 "2013-04-20T17:27:24Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > Maybe Nauru? The unemployment rate in Nauru is 90%. It’s basically all beggars. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/53 "2013-04-21T03:06:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We got hit up by a Japanese beggar last week, and I didn’t know they existed. At Shibuya Station in Tokyo. We’d been in town a couple of days and had the subway and JR systems figured out, but while looking at the board to see how much the fare was back to the Ueno area, this Japanese guy starts showing us how to use the ticket machines. He was distinctly _too_ friendly, which, after living in Thailand, sets off all sorts of warning bells. Sure enough, after he finished showing us how to use the machines, he asked us for 200 yen. I told him to get lost or I’d find a cop. > [@hibernicus](#): > > I’ve come across exactly one beggar in Japan, in a busy shopping street in Osaka (Shinsaibashi-suji). If it were not for that one incident, I would have offered Japan as an example in answer to the OP. Maybe it’s the same guy traveling around. The National Beggar. 😃 He didn’t look like your stereotypical beggar. Dressed casually but well, about 35-40, a little nerdish-looking. His overly friendly manner screamed “scammer” more than it did “beggar,” but then he flat out asked for 200 yen. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/54 "2013-04-21T19:50:55Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > That was the one that immediately sprung to my mind. I certainly don’t recall seeing any on the fours trips I’ve made there. > > I guess if someone has had a _really_ bad time at the casinos they might need to beg for the cab fare home, but I never saw that happen. I’ve never been there, but my ex grew up in Monte Carlo. She said the place is policed like Beverly Hills (at least, like in the movies - I’ve never been there either), to the point where residents leave their doors unlocked. A Bennett Cerf collection contained a short story about an American gambler in Monte Carlo who goes broke. He considers shooting himself, but then recalls a secret that a casino manager friend had let him in on: there are never any destitute suicides found in Monte Carlo. The police always find a wad of cash on suicides’ bodies, planted for PR purposes by casino detectives. So, the American spreaded ketchup on his jacket, fired his gun into the air, and skedaddled before the police arrived with his casino-funded ‘severance pay’. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/55 "2013-04-21T21:21:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > he asked us for 200 yen. I told him to get lost or I’d find a cop. SRSLY? that seems about the most non-threatening beg I can think of. He helped you out and you threatened him with police? How about just saying no and walking away. Or how about giving up 200 yen even ($2) to help someone whos obviously down on their luck. I have never met a beggar after living in Japan for 2 years and in fact I have tried to give money to homeless people and they have refused to take it. Siam Sam’s story is extremely rare but I guess we can’t say “none” for Japan, just very very few. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/56 "2013-04-22T01:54:35Z")
> [@Rama](#): > > According to the Kim’s or in [reality](http://www.snkr.org/stories/personal/personal.html)? I read that story too. That was touching. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/57 "2013-04-22T14:17:37Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > SRSLY? that seems about the most non-threatening beg I can think of. He helped you out and you threatened him with police? How about just saying no and walking away. Or how about giving up 200 yen even ($2) to help someone whos obviously down on their luck. He “helped us out” in no way but rather imposed himself on us in an unwelcome manner. Obviously he was targeting foreigners because the Japanese would have the cops on him pronto, and as I said, we already knew how to operate the damned machines. He’s lucky he didn’t get a boot up his arse. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/58 "2013-04-22T16:03:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > . He’s lucky he didn’t get a boot up his arse. Sorry I believe in compassion. If you don’t then that’s fine but it’s probably a lonely life. You live in Thailand, a buddhist country, do you not have any buddhist ideals? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/59 "2013-04-22T23:51:33Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Sorry I believe in compassion. If you don’t then that’s fine but it’s probably a lonely life. Sorry but you were not there and have no feel for how creepy this guy was acting. My main concern was getting this lunatic away from me and, especially, my wife. Someone else can be his social worker. I’m used to beggars in all sorts of countries, and I can tell you this was completely out of place for Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103/60 "2013-04-23T00:21:10Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > A Bennett Cerf collection contained a short story about an American gambler in Monte Carlo who goes broke. He considers shooting himself, but then recalls a secret that a casino manager friend had let him in on: there are never any destitute suicides found in Monte Carlo. The police always find a wad of cash on suicides’ bodies, planted for PR purposes by casino detectives. So, the American spreaded ketchup on his jacket, fired his gun into the air, and skedaddled before the police arrived with his casino-funded ‘severance pay’. How does that (fictionally) work? The police had the money to plant on his “corpse” but he fled before they arrived. Or do you mean that the casino planted the money on him before he fled? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-countries-without-beggars/654103.md?page=4)