2. Longyearbyen, Norway
Longyearbyen, a town in Svalbard, Norway, is the world’s northernmost settlement with a permanent population. It is illegal to die here because of the permafrost in the region, which slows down the decomposition process and can cause diseases to linger. As a result, the town’s cemetery has not accepted new burials since the 1950s. Anyone who is terminally ill is required to leave the town and go to the mainland to pass away.
3. Biritiba-Mirim, Brazil
Biritiba-Mirim is a small town located in the São Paulo state of Brazil. In 2005, the town passed a law making it illegal to die there, citing a lack of cemetery space as the reason. The town’s mayor at the time, Roberto Pereira da Silva, was determined to create a solution to the cemetery space problem and even offered free burial plots to anyone who moved to the town. The law was eventually repealed, but the mayor’s efforts did result in the creation of a new cemetery.
