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The Roman Empire lasted around 500 years from the ascension of Julius Caesar to the deposition of teenage ruler Romulus Augustulus.

By this timeline the United Kingdom in its current form is middle-aged, with Ireland joining England, Wales, and Scotland in 1801.

So how long do we have left?

A study part-sponsored by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was not optimistic.

Led by mathematician Safa Motesharrei, it questioned the sustainability of modern civilisation.

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The study noted: ”The fall of the Roman Empire, and the equally (if not more) advanced Han, Mauryan, and Gupta Empires, as well as so many advanced Mesopotamian Empires, are all testimony to the fact that advanced, sophisticated, complex, and creative civilizations can be both fragile and impermanent."

Scarcity of resources such as water, agriculture, and energy were found to lead to decline.

When coupled with an unsustainable population or unfavourable climate change, it can spell disaster.

Researchers noted that a huge divide in the rich and poor played "a central role in the character or in the process of the collapse" of civilisations over "the last five thousand years."

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Meanwhile, the UK Government Office of Science warned that a combination of food, water and energy crises might be the catalyst for a “perfect storm” in the next decade.

In an essay for New Scientist, Debora MacKenzie said civilisations collapse when they run out of the energy need to maintain their complexity.

For instance, Ugo Bardi at the University of Florence said that if the electrical grid stops running, we wouldn’t be able to start it up again.

“We don’t have enough anthracite to reinvent electricity or launch the industrial revolution again,” he told MacKenzie.

“So it will be agriculture: simple tools and dark nights”.

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But even if the sun sets on the UK, what about the other world economies?

It is likely countries built on decentralised, renewable power might fare better in the future.

For instance, with many of its citizens living off-grid, tech start-ups in Africa have built everything from solar-powered phone chargers to flat-screen TVs.

China, which pledged $60 billion to African countries last year, has the fallout of its one child policy to deal with.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)

Meanwhile, Japan has the oldest population in the world — increasing the tax burden on its younger citizens.

And the USA spends more on healthcare than any other nation, but has one of the lowest life expectancies of developed countries — 78 years.

If this isn’t dismal enough, there is evidence the world is entering a new arms race.

One explanation of the fermi paradox — why we haven’t encountered aliens — is that intelligent species tear themselves to pieces before they master interstellar travel.