A crisis is negative circumstances that can change the country's economy. In most cases, such a description will correspond to large-scale disasters such as wars, epidemics and famines. However, some crises seem insignificant at first glance. For example, is it worth worrying about an oversupply of cattle in the country or a shortage of vultures? Well, we will tell you about the most unusual crises in the world, and you yourself decide whether they can lead to large-scale disasters or not.
10. South Korean childlessness crisis
While Russian officials say the state has not asked people to give birth, the South Korean government is pursuing policies to encourage fertility, from lowering the tax burden to allowing parents with young children (under 8) to work an hour less every day.
Experts have calculated that at the current birth rate in the country, its population will become negative in just ten years. This means that there will be more deaths than births. If this trend continues, it is estimated that by 2750 there will be no one left in South Korea.
9. The childlessness crisis in China
In ninth place in the top 10 strangest crises in the modern world, there is a situation that is very similar to the South Korean one. Several decades ago, China introduced a one-family-one-child policy to control its rapidly growing population. The rule was strictly enforced, and the government even carried out forced abortions and sterilization of people who neglected it.
By 2015, the country's population growth rate had slowed so dramatically that families were allowed to have two children. But it seems that most Chinese couples choose to have only one child or none at all. And now the Chinese government claims that "having children is not only a family matter, but also a national issue" and is even considering the possibility of monetary incentives for people who want to have a second child.
8. Venezuelan passport crisis
One of countries of the world close to default in 2019, suffered from severe hyperinflation that nearly paralyzed its economy. More than 2.3 million people have fled Venezuela to neighboring Latin American countries since 2014. However, many only dream about it, because they do not have passports.
Before the crisis in Venezuela, obtaining a passport was difficult, but possible. Now the situation has become much worse. Passports are known to be deliberately detained by passport officials, unless the person seeking the passport bribes them in the amount of $ 1,000 to $ 5,000. For a poor country, this is a lot of money. The average monthly salary there is $ 5.
7. The health crisis in Venezuela
Along with the passport crisis, Venezuela is also facing a severe health crisis. At least 22,000 doctors left the country after the death of Hugo Chávez, causing a shortage of qualified medical personnel across the country.Many hospitals were either closed or did not work regularly. And patients are required to bring their own medicines, syringes, gloves and even soap. This has led Venezuelan hospitals to move from being places where people are treated to being places where they are killed.
Hospitals are also seeing an increase in burn victims. Most of them are toddlers who got burned by their hands on kerosene lamps that replaced light bulbs.
6. Food crisis in China
China's arable land accounts for less than one tenth of the world's total land area, although it is home to one fifth of the world's population. In addition, most of the agricultural land is either occupied by industrial enterprises or contaminated with heavy metals emitted by these industries.
China's food crisis began decades ago, when improved living standards spurred Chinese citizens to eat better, while local farmland is scarce to grow vegetables and raise livestock. So far, China has managed to manage the crisis by importing food and renting or buying agricultural land in Russia, Africa, Australia and America. However, most of the countries where Chinese farms live will have a demographic boom in a few decades, and they themselves will need agricultural land to feed their citizens.
5. The plastic crisis in the USA
The US government cannot recycle most of its plastics. For several years, huge portions of recyclable materials were sent to China for processing. However, in January 2018, China banned the recycling of plastics from the United States. And America had to ship its plastic waste to Canada, Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand.
But even these countries are not eager to be landfills for democracy strongholds. Malaysia has imposed a tax and limited the types of plastics that are acceptable for recycling, and Thailand has pledged to ban the recycling of American plastics for two years. In response, several US states have either abandoned recycling of certain types of plastics or have given up on recycling altogether.
4. The stray cow crisis in India
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is currently experiencing one of the strangest crises in history. And he is associated with homeless cows. These animals are sacred in India, they are not eaten. Because of this, farmers are reluctant to keep bulls and cows that no longer produce milk. And what to do with such "unproductive" animals? They are simply kicked out into the street.
In 2012, there were 1,009,436 stray cattle in Uttar Pradesh. Its numbers are expected to increase significantly this year. Wandering cattle raid farmland and eat crops. And this threatens people with hunger.
3. India's vulture crisis
There were many vultures in India in the past. Their number was so high that no one bothered to count these birds "over their heads." According to a rough estimate, their number in the early 1990s was 40 million.
However, this changed between 1992 and 2007, when the number of vultures declined by 97%. And today there are only about 20,000 vultures in India. Some Indians even thought that the United States had stolen their vultures.
Remember we mentioned that Hindus usually do not eat cows, of which there are many in the country? This is where the vultures enter the scene, who play the role of city orderlies.
Unfortunately, diclofenac, a popular anti-inflammatory drug given to cattle in India, is deadly to vultures and causes kidney failure and death. Now there are not enough vultures to eat carrion, with the result that many decaying animal carcasses are scattered throughout India. This put the country on the brink of an epidemic of various diseases. Rats and dogs have partially replaced vultures, but they are not as effective.
2. South Korea's suicide crisis
Surprisingly, prosperous and high-tech South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. In 2015 alone, 13,500 South Koreans have committed suicide. That's an average of 37 people a day. Most of those who have decided to voluntarily leave for another world are elderly people who often live in poverty and do not want to burden their relatives.
In response to high suicide rates, the South Korean government has criminalized suicide pacts - agreements between two or more people who intend to engage in group suicide.
1. The renewable energy crisis in Germany
Germany is a model nation when it comes to renewable energy sources. On one Sunday in 2017, the country was generating so much energy from renewable sources that the government was paying users to use excess energy (for example, to turn on equipment and machines that they do not currently use).
Imagine that the Russian government pays you to turn on your washing machine for no reason. To be clear, the authorities are not giving consumers "real money". Instead, energy companies deduct them from their electricity bills.
Green energy is unpredictable and unmanageable because solar panels and wind turbines cannot increase or decrease their power at the user's request. They generate electricity depending on the weather conditions. This leads to a crisis that the Germans call "energy poverty". Simply put, people find it difficult to pay for electricity, or they spend so much money on electricity that they don't have enough money to survive.