Why NOBODY Lives in these 12 EMPTY Countries

there have never been more humans on Earth in fact the worldwide population just surpassed 8 billion and it's projected to hit 9 billion by 2037 but while the world as whole is becoming more crowded certain Nations remain vastly uninhabited the following 12 countries cover combined 29 million square km or 20% of all land on Earth yet house just. 13% of humanity why do so few people live in them find out in number 12 Kazakhstan spanning over 2.7 million square kilm Kazakhstan is larger than Western Europe but in contrast to the nearly 400 million Western Europeans Kazakhstan is inhabited by mere 19.94% Mountains and the last wild Apple Forest resonate with such Solitude particularly when it's the wealthiest Central Asian Nation with notably high quality of life the climate endless arid stepper desert blanket 94% of this land which receives less than 200 or 7.5 in of annual rainfall and since Kazakhstan is also the largest landlocked country sitting over 1700 km from the nearest ocean it experiences extreme temperatures seeing both positive and 45° this results in very little aable land mostly located near the mountains to the east north and south where the climate is more temperate and unsurprisingly nearly all of kazakhstan's population resides in these regions now historically most kazaks LED nomadic lives as pastoral herders and thus didn't build large settlements but even so the population would likely be significantly higher if not for tragic events such as the khaak famine following the Takeover of Kazakhstan by the Soviet Union in 1920 the vast majority of kha'zix were forcibly relocated to Collective grain Farms these districts were then blacklisted from Trading or receiving food and Aid unless they met their quotas and since the terrain isn't suitable for sedentary farming crops often failed resulting in 90% of livestock perishing and the starvation of 1.5 to 2.3 million kha'zix from 1930 to 1933 which was more than half the population at the time the Soviets also conducted nearly 500 nuclear tests in in the country affecting an additional 1.5 million kha'zix with nuclear fallout number 11 morania at 1.03 million square km morania is three times the size of Germany yet its population of just 4.86 million is smaller than Metro Berlin and although the largest amount of modern-day slavery is reason it's one of the least visited countries with less than 2,000 visitors each year the main reason it's so sparely populated with just 4.7 2 people per square kilometer is water or rather the lack thereof morania is the seventh driest country with just 89 or 3.5 in of annual rainfall this is due to 90% of its land being blanketed by the Sahara Desert one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth to make matters worse severe droughts since the 1960s has caused the desert to expand at rate of 6 km per year exacerbating the issues because of this the population is concentrated in the coastal cities of new akshat and Nadu are on the southern border along the senagal river the country's sole permanent water source and where all 0.5% of the nation's arable land is but not only does literally no one live in the vast majority of the country the Central and Eastern parts are completely inaccessible in fact there are only 3,700 km of Road in the entire country that's less than in Washington DC but who needs roads when you can hitch cold grind covered 717 km ride on the iron ore train yeah don't really get why every travel YouTuber tortures thems to do this number 10 batswana despite being larger than France as well as one of the most prosperous stable and beautiful African nations with more elephants than anywhere on Earth less than 2.7 million people call batswana home your initial assumption might attribute the modest population to protecting national parks covering 40% of the nation and the Kalahari desert 70% but that doesn't tell the full story bwana's desert is technically semi- arid rather than true desert with even the driest Parts receiving around 300 or 12 in of rain per year and the North and Southeastern parts of the country where most botswanan live is actually quite fertile the biggest cause for the low population density of just 4.6 people per square kilometer is AIDS batswana was among the Nations hit hardest by the HIV epidemic with 40% of the population Contracting the virus by 2,000 and 25 to 30,000 deaths per year the average life expectancy actually dropped from 63 years in 1987 to just 37 by 2002 and although botswana's Diamond wealth and non-corrupt government made it the first African nation to offer life-saving anti-retroviral drugs free to all residents effectively saving hundreds of thousands of lives the repercussions of the epidemic are still felt today with 25% of adults still living with the virus and birth rates currently half of what they were in the 1980s number nine Libya if you thought morania and batswana were dry Libya is saying hold my beer well not literally since alcohol is banned here but that's not the only way Libya is dry located in the heart of the Sahara Desert sea of sand the size of Alaska and shrouds more than 90% of this 1.76 million square km Nation so it shouldn't be surprise that Libya is the second driest country with an average annual rainfall of just 56 or 2.2 in and sure it's even drier neighbor Egypt houses over 100 million more residents than Libya's 7.25 million but Egypt also has the Nile the longest river in the world Libya in contrast doesn't have any rivers in fact it's only due to Historic Mediterranean cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi that Libya's population density is as high as 4.12 people per square kilometer cuz if it weren't for the country 18800 km of Coastline where over 90% of libyans live and the largest irrigation project in the world which pumps water from an aquafer 1,600 km away to these cities it would be by far the emptiest nation number eight Canada Canada is the second largest country on Earth spanning 9.98 4 million square kilm that's nearly the size of Europe which houses 750 million people Canada's population on on the other hand is sparse 40.4 million which translates to remarkably low population density of 4.05 people per square kilometer why though Canada's climate is perfect well maybe for you Mr moose but for humans the vast majority is too darn North and too darn cold it's why 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border and 70% livees south of the 49th parallel and if you're wondering why this vast Southern section of Ontario is so populated it's the Canadian Shield an area of exposed rock and bogs that's impossible to grow agriculture on but even this region would be extremely hospitable when compared to the three territories which take up nearly 40% of the country all located north of the 60th parallel they cover an area larger than India at 3.92 million square km yet their total population is 120,000 yeah that's population density of 0.33 people per square km less than even Alaska number seven seram while many of the most uninhabitable parts of Africa are due to lack of water the most uninhabitable parts of South America have too much water and with over 3,000 or 10 ft of annual rainfall suram is the prime example located less than 400 km from the equator 94% of the country sits inside the Amazon rainforest making it the most forested Nation on Earth Earth but although its jungle is beautiful with thousands of unique species it's also extremely hot and humid full of dangerous Critters and nearly impossible to build in which is why over 90% of suram 632,000 residents live along the coastal plane with half the population residing in the capital Paramaribo even the coast still isn't very hospitable however with two rainy seasons and extreme flooding every year in fact only 37% of the country is considered aable and even less is the developed with just 1100 km of paved roads and no roads at all in the interior where rivers are the main method of transportation all these factors combined with struggling economy give suram one of the highest immigration rates in the world resulting in population density of only 3.86 people per square kilometer but hey at least it's one of the most Multicultural Nations and the food is delicious number six Iceland Iceland's sparse population density mere 3.82 people per square kilm isn't solely consequence of it being an icy isolated island because although its northern location ensures long dark windy Winters Iceland surprisingly boasts milder weather than many bustling metropolises the real reason the nation houses less residence than Arlington Texas suburb lies in its Fiery Heart nestled between tectonic plates Iceland hosts 41 active volcanic systems which combined with the mossy can ions black sand beaches and Majestic waterfalls makes it big turist draw but an even bigger challenge for building settlements catastrophic eruptions like the scaer fires of 1783 which killed over quarter of the population have rendered vast areas unlivable between the lava Fields glaciers and Arctic tundra only 20% of Iceland is actually habitable and just 1.5% of it is airable meaning most produce has to either be imported or grown in green houses due to this in heavier reliance on the fishing industry 95% of Iceland's 394,000 residents live along the coast where the climate is less harsh and the danger of volcanoes less great number five Guyana Guyana is South America's lone English-speaking Nation but its disconnect from its Latin neighbors extends Beyond just language similar to seram 85% of Guyana is engulfed by the Amazon rainforest rendering Urban Development exceptionally challenging in fact Gana is the least developed South American country with less than 800 km of paved roads and no Roads connecting the eastern and western halves so although technically on the mainland in practice Guyana operates as an island with Lush overgrown jungles separating the 90% of the population who lives along the coast from the rest of the country and world the nearest major city to georget Town the capital home to half the country's 814,000 residents is manous Brazil one of the most remote cities on Earth and it's still 1500 km journey through dangerous unpaved Amazon roads featuring multiple River Crossings to deepen the isolation there are also no direct flights from Georgetown to any Latin American cities except Panama it's no wonder Jim Jones built his Jonestown cult here nearly the entire country is impossible to access an empty with population density of only 3.79 people per square kilm now the discovery of oil has transformed the economy into the fastest growing in recent years but huge wealth inequality means many guyane still live in extreme poverty as such anyone with the means immigrates to the US UK or Canada with an estimated 30,000 guye leaving the nation every year number four Australia Australia spanning vast 7.7 million square kilm is nearly the size of the continental United States however its population of 26.8 million is smaller than that of Texas alone why is this colossal continent country despite offering an exceptionally high quality of life and stunning scenery so sparsely populated with just 3.48 people per square kilometer well because the Australian continent seems to have been cursed with the worst luck when it comes to hosting settlements not only is it extremely geographically isolated from every other continent which historically made trade and transportation difficult the land down under is also the driest inhabited continent with vast portions of the the Outback an aid region covering 70% of the nation being simply unlivable heck it's even dangerous to drive through the Outback is 50° isn't unusual and one could travel thousands of kilometers without encountering single car and while other dry parts of the world have massive rivers that civilizations could grow on such as the Nile Tigris and Euphrates the Colorado River alone has greater flow than all of Australia's Rivers combined this is due to Australia being the lowest flattest continent with no glaciers and very little snow melt to supply Rivers as if that weren't bad enough the Australian plate is also the oldest land mass on Earth with no tectonic or volcanic activity resulting in severely nutrient poor soil because of this Australia is one of the most urbanized nations with over half of its population living in just three cities meaning if you removed them Australia would be by far the emptiest nation number three Namibia with the tallest sand Wilderness areas full of desert adapted mammals and of course the skeleton Coast Namibia is one of the most beautiful and unique countries but despite its expansive 825,000 Square km being twice the size of California only 2.7 million namibians reside in the world's third least densely populated Nation what's the reason for its tiny population density of 3.36 people per square kilometer the Namib Desert the oldest desert on Earth stretches 19 00 km along the entire namibian Coastline and sees less than 2 or 0.08 in of annual rain but the lack of water isn't the only reason this region is devoid of settlements cold currents from Antarctica keep the ocean cool yearr here and when those frigid waters are met by the hot desert near permanent layer of fog forms up to 100 km Inland this made sailing into Namibia highly hazardous leading to the wreckage of hundreds of ships that still litter its beaches in fact if if it weren't for the Coast's only decent natural Harbor walvis Bay Namibia would function as landlocked country and it practically does with nearly the entire population living at least 200 km Inland in the more Lush kalaari desert yeah remember the least habitable part of batswana we talked about that's namibia's most livable region even with no perennial rivers in just 1% arable land however Namibia has turned into one of Africa's safest most stable and wealthiest Nations now before we get to the final to make sure you leave like And subscribe if we hit 5,000 likes I'll make video on the largest emptiest regions of the world and also wanted to give quick honorable mention to Greenland which would be by far the emptiest country if it were considered one with just 0.026 people per square kilometer less than 57,000 people live on the world's largest island covering 2.17 million square kilm yeah Greenland is larger than Mexico yet its population is less than Greenwood Indiana and if you've never heard of Greenwood that's the point pick any random us suburb and there's good chance it's more populated of course the main reason is extreme weather and inhospitable terrain 80% of the island is covered by massive Glacier three times the size of Texas as such 100% of the population lives on the coast but while Greenland is trying to gain independence they are still technically self-governing territory of Denmark and thus don't qualify for the list number two Mongolia 700 years ago the Mongol Empire housed over 100 million residents and spanned 33 million square kilm making it the largest contiguous state to have ever existed and nearly twice the size of Russia the current largest country so why is Mongolia vast land twice the size of Texas at 1.56 million square km home to just 3.45 million people today well because significant portion of those 100 million weren't ethnic Mongols but rather kxs USCS Persians and Arabians who were absorbed by the Empire the area that's modern-day Mongolia has always been sparsely populated landlocked on the Mongolian Plateau over 700 km from the nearest ocean 91% of Mongolia sits on high elevation low precipitation grassland step or desert and thus experiences extreme temperatures in both directions particularly enduring brutally long and frigid Winters due to Arctic air dropping Into The Valleys from Siberia to the north the capital anulan Batar is actually the coldest major city on earth and significant portion of the country is affected by discontinuous permafrost which makes construction and farming incredibly difficult consequently Mongols were traditionally nomadic peoples and quarter of the population still lives this way today but this isn't the sole reason Mongolia is so empty with just 2.21 people per square kilometer geopolitical factors have also played significant role such as when one-third of all Mongol men were Buddhist monks for over 200 years during the Ching Dynasty and thus not allowed to marry or have children plus when Mongolia gained true Independence in 1990 many ethnic Mongols lived outside its borders with 800,000 currently residing in Russia and over 5 million in China number one Western Sahara while the UN doesn't recognize Western Sahara's sovereignty and Morocco is desperately trying to claim the area 46 countries currently recog it as the sarawi Arab Democratic Republic and an independent state so if you do consider Western Sahara to be country it's the least densely populated Nation with only 2207 people per square kilometer the is similar to its neighbor morania nearly the entire country is low flat desert with no permanent Rivers average annual rainfall under 50 and just .2% of land considered arable as such the indigenous sarawi people traditionally let BN nomadic way of life little Economic Opportunity and long-standing political conflict with Morocco has also led to the displacement of many with over 150,000 sarawi being forced into refugee camps in neighboring countries but while just 587,589