# Which country is the most backwater godforsaken hell-hole on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393 "2010-05-31T16:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/41 "2010-06-01T14:20:34Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It is amazing to see late model Mercedes limousines, driving of streets where beggars sleep on the sidewalks.:mad: Yeah, that only happens in Haiti. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/42 "2010-06-01T14:59:56Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > This. Seriously, this. > > Liberia looks like a nightmare. I couldn’t possibly imagine living there. North Korea, as bizarre as it is, at least has some semblance of normality to it. Liberia just seems like a living hell in every sense of the word. A place where rape happens so often people don’t even think it’s that big a deal anymore? A place where some kid (who couldn’t have been more than 16) is willing to go on camera with a bloody heart in his hands and say he’ll eat it? I’d pick North Korea over Liberia any day. I think the boy eating the human heart was about 14 or so. The boy smoking heroin who admitted to raping people was more like 13 or so. And then there is the cannibalism… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/43 "2010-06-01T15:02:09Z")
_USA! USA! USA!_ Wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/44 "2010-06-01T15:03:53Z")
I notice no one ever nominates cold-climate countries for these kinds of polls. Considering how incredibly murderously cranky I get just from getting a little bit too overheated or hungry, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to _live_ in one of those places, in constant, grinding hunger and poverty, with no avenue or hope of escape. I therefore submit my theory that the solution to world peace lies in everyone, _everyone_, lying down with the A/C cranked up, having some cold juice and a cookie, and taking a nap. The difficulty lies in providing the electricity to run all those window units. ---
**Author:** ![signal11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@signal11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/signal11)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/45 "2010-06-01T15:09:19Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > The north of Sudan (from Khartoum to the Egyptian border) is actually quite normal. Yes, it is poor, but other than that, there is nothing hell-holeish about it. I spent about two weeks there driving around on holiday a few months ago. The west and south are almost different countries (and situations) of course. Funny, but I’m not such a big fan of South Sudan, even though it’s easier to get a hold of alcohol. > [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Indeed. It is just that the situation goes from stable and normal, to guys with AK47s running amok. Usually not in Goma directly, but north of there. Oh trust me dude, I’ve been there and I know. I’ve been on the wrong side when our compounds were in Mweso/Kitchanga during flare-ups, driven through the lines during cease fires north of Sake (when first you pass the guys staring south, then no one, then all the guy staring north), etc. Though you can usually see it coming. Oddly enough, the one time I knew things were about to heat up but wasn’t quick enough on the draw to call for an evac back down to Goma was when I started seeing M-16s toted around by Kinyarwanda speaking guys towards Nyanzale. The next day, the I was definitely happy I’d stashed a couple cartons of smokes in the hibernation room. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/46 "2010-06-01T15:10:38Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I guess you missed the joke, yet somehow made it funnier. This isn’t exactly a joke thread. And I notice your profile doesn’t indicate _your_ home state… ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/47 "2010-06-01T15:31:33Z")
I came to mention Sao Tome & Principe. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/48 "2010-06-01T16:04:59Z")
Why does the [Wikipedia article on Somalia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia) paint such a rosy picture? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/49 "2010-06-01T16:15:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, watch the Vice Guide to Liberia, a country where cannibalism and child prostitution is rampant. > > This should end the conversation. > > Seriously. > > Watch it now. I saw this post right before bed last night and ended up staying up until 2 AM watching this. Jesus fucking Christ. Liberia wins. ---
**Author:** ![signal11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@signal11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/signal11)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/50 "2010-06-01T16:39:33Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I saw this post right before bed last night and ended up staying up until 2 AM watching this. Jesus fucking Christ. Liberia wins. I’d like to interject at this point that one could take most of the places mentioned in this thread, make videos such as the one above and make it equally horrific. Many of my colleagues have worked in Liberia and in the grand scheme of where we tend to rank humanitarian nightmares, Liberia doesn’t even come close to the top of the collective list. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/51 "2010-06-01T18:06:41Z")
> [@signal11](#): > > I’d like to interject at this point that one could take most of the places mentioned in this thread, make videos such as the one above and make it equally horrific. > > Many of my colleagues have worked in Liberia and in the grand scheme of where we tend to rank humanitarian nightmares, Liberia doesn’t even come close to the top of the collective list. I will happily see evidence of children holding up human hearts, threatening to eat them, along with grown men casually discussing eating the hearts of children for any other country and will amend my statement. In the meantime, that is definitely the most awful thing I’ve ever seen (maybe I’m sheltered, I dunno). ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/52 "2010-06-01T19:26:32Z")
> [@](#): > > I notice no one ever nominates cold-climate countries for these kinds of polls. Well, there aren’t really that many distinct countries with seriously cold climates, and other than Russia, they’re all well-functioning democracies. And even Russia has order and a non-third-world standard of living. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/53 "2010-06-01T19:30:01Z")
> [@Sinisterniik](#): > > Ever been to East Hampton, CT? Yeah?? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/54 "2010-06-01T20:03:48Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Well, there aren’t really that many distinct countries with seriously cold climates, and other than Russia, they’re all well-functioning democracies. And even Russia has order and a non-third-world standard of living. There are also some public-health problems which get much, much worse in tropical or semi-tropical climates. Malaria, for example, has never stalked the streets of Oslo. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/55 "2010-06-01T20:37:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Somalia and Congo are definitely at the top of the list. Both countries have large lawless militant organizations, and the rape, abuse, mutilation and murder of women continues nearly unabated. When they’re run out of women, I suppose it will be peaceful and civilized again. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/56 "2010-06-01T20:44:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, watch the Vice Guide to Liberia, a country where cannibalism and child prostitution is rampant. > > This should end the conversation. > > Seriously. > > Watch it now. Watched it. Oh my God. I sit here stunned and shaking a little. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/57 "2010-06-01T21:07:13Z")
> [@signal11](#): > > Many of my colleagues have worked in Liberia and in the grand scheme of where we tend to rank humanitarian nightmares, Liberia doesn’t even come close to the top of the collective list. OK, that just makes me want to cry. I watched that video a few days ago, and I’m still disturbed. That guy at the end–the ex-warlord/cannibal/mass-murder turned beloved preacher talking about cutting the hearts of out live children to eat before battle…Worse than that? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/58 "2010-06-01T21:27:10Z")
I’ve been to Iran, and life for average people there is actually fairly decent. Women get more higher education than men do, and are in the professions. Women make up more than 50 percent of Iranian university students with some fields in science and engineering, with women comprising more than 70 percent of their alumni.[sup][cite](http://www.payvand.com/news/03/nov/1133.html)[/sup] This progress occurred after the revolution. Which is not to say that Iran is a worker’s paradise or anything. Political repression there is serious, and the atrocities against political prisoners are horrifying. But for the average person who stays out of the regime’s way, life isn’t hellish and may even be fairly pleasant. Well, there’s adequate infrastructure, the food is good there, they have plenty of intellectual life, and Tehran has a nice climate. When I was there I went off the beaten path several times, slipped out of the grasp of the handlers they assign to foreign visitors, and saw the lives of ordinary Iranians. If it weren’t for the authoritarian regime and the fate of political prisoners, it would be a really nice country. The people are courteous and friendly, and everyone I met told me they love America. Seriously. I think they went out of their way to say that to me, to counterbalance the antagonistic official anti-American propaganda there. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/59 "2010-06-01T21:38:13Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Well, there aren’t really that many distinct countries with seriously cold climates, and other than Russia, they’re all well-functioning democracies. And even Russia has order and a non-third-world standard of living. Whoa, I think you’ve forgotten about the existence of the former Soviet Republics. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan are all far from well-functioning democracies. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia are also at various levels of fucked up-ness. ETA: Oh, and my vote for the worst worst worst place goes to either Somalia or the DRC. Other choice places are Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/60 "2010-06-01T21:39:54Z")
Kyla: > [@](#): > > Whoa, I think you’ve forgotten about the existence of the former Soviet Republics. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan are all far from well-functioning democracies. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia are also at various levels of fucked up-ness. How cold are they? Isn’t their latitude more southern than Turkey and Greece? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393.md?page=4)