Livaria

The Regal Republic of Livaria Королівська Республіка Ліварії (Livarian)
Flag	Coat of arms
Motto:
Anthem: Arise from the Sea, O Child of Vind! (Livarian: Вставай з моря, дитино Віндру!)
Locator map
Capital city	Rubizhne
Largest city	Rubizhne
Official language	Livarian
Other languages	Medovenian, Vordinian
Ethnic group
Religion	Peratolian Orkanan, Mellanhand Orkanan
Demonym(s)	Livarian or Livaryan
Government
Government Type	Unitary parliamentary monarchical republic
King-elect	Yaromyr III
Chancellor	Eryka Vasylenko i Kolisnyk
Legislature	Noble Assembly (upper house) Rada (lower house)
Establishment
Regal Republic established
Area
Total	397,190.13 km2
Water %
Population
Total	123,816,597 (11th)
Density	311.73/km2
Economy
Economy type	Open-market capitalist
GDP (total)	Ꞡ 4.49 trillion
GDP per capita	Ꞡ 36,304.76
Currency	Livarian Voran (฿) ()
Inequality index
Development index
Other information
Time zone	-3
Driving side	left
Calling code	LIV
Internet code	.li
Nation number	{{{nation number}}}

Livaria (Livarian: Ліваря), officially the Regal Republic of Livaria (Livarian: Королівська Республіка Ліварії; Korolivs'ka Respublika Livariyi), and often referred to eponymously as The Regal Republic, is a unitary parliamentary monarchical republic in north-eastern Anaria. The nation encompasses the Cheltic Isles, namely Livarskiy, Belohor and Zolotar islands. The islands are sandwiched off the north-eastern coast of Anaria Major, the eastern coast of Thultannia and the southern coast of Stoldavia, controlling the strategic straits that lead to the North Settant Sea and the Stolvic Ocean beyond. The country shares maritime borders with Halland and Auresia to the west, Zelezmia to the south, Helreich to the east and the United Royal Provinces to the north. Rubizhne is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Rivnya, Zra-Rostyslav, Uzherehins'ke, Chervone and Andrushivka. The total area of Livaria, excluding its overseas territories, is 397,190 km².

Livaria is the 11th most populous state on Gotha, with 123,816,597 inhabitants as of 7690, as well as the third most densely populated. The Greater Rubizhne Metropolitan Area, colloquially known as the 'Rubokruh', is one of the largest urban metropoleis in the world. The nation was one of the leaders of the industrial revolution of the 7300s and has since then remained a foremost economic power. Livaria has the third-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in the world and has amongst the highest GDP per capita and standards of living on Gotha. Its economy is dominated by the services sector, but it has a large and highly developed electronics and manufacturing sector which makes it one of the world's largest importers and exporters. It also has a significant research and development sector.

The constitution of modern Livaria is governed by the Regal Compromise of 7386, which sought to reconcile the position of the elected king with other republican traditions, and transformed the country into a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. Some political scientists have described Livaria's system of govenrment as a crowned republic. The head of state of the Regal Republic is the King (or Queen)-elect, a noble elected to the office for life, while the head of government is the Chancellor, who wields de facto executive authority in the country. Livaria is governed under a bicameral parliament, made up of the Noble Assembly (the upper house) and the Council (the lower house), mostly known as the Rada.

Livaria is a Great Power and one of the Nuclear Five. It has one of the most technologically advanced and capable armed forces in the world, with a large blue-water navy and a number of military bases across the planet in the country's various overseas territories as well as allied nations. Livaria is a prominent member of a number of international organisations, including ICoN, OSSO and XXX.

Government and politics

Modern Livaria is a unitary parliamentary monarchical republic. The modern system, also sometimes referred to as a crowned republic, has come about over hundreds of years of evolution from complex forms of mixed government, which sought to combine and reconcile monarchy, aristocracy and democratic traditions. Modern Livaria nevertheless has strongly embedded democratic and republican ideals, though given its traditionally mixed form of government, aristocratic and monarchical elements are still important parts of the constitution and political values of the country today.

Executive

Since the Regal Compromise of 7386, the head of state is the King- or Queen-elect (Livarian: Коро́ль-оби́раний (Korol-obiranyĭ); Короле́ва-оби́раний (Koroleva-obiranyĭ)). The monarch-elect is elected by universal suffrage and holds the post for life, though there is precedent for abdications. Upon the death of the previous monarch-elect, the Noble Assembly convenes and an elective council of 50 members is drawn by lot. Those 50 members then elect five candidates, which are then put forward to a universal suffrage vote, using a two-round election process. This system has evolved through various reforms in recent centuries, and was considerably more complex and less democratic in previous eras.

The current King-elect is Yaromyr III, who has held the office since his election in 7682. The monarch-elect's powers are today broadly ceremonial, but they retain important appointment powers within the Noble Assembly. However, the monarch-elect also has a number of reserve powers at their disposal, which are rarely used, to uphold responsible government and prevent constitutional crises, including by dissolving parliament. The monarch-elect is also the commander-in-chief of the Livarian armed forces.

The head of government is the chancellor, who is appointed by the monarch-elect conventionally after they are elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Rada, though this is not always the case. The chancellor, currently Eryka Vasylenko i Kolisnyk, exercises executive power through the Cabinet of Ministers.

Legislature

The legislature consists of the Livarian parliament, a bicameral body made up of the appointed upper house, the Noble Assembly, and the elected lower house, the Council, also known as the Rada (Livarian: Рада). For general elections to the Rada, the country is divided into 750 constituencies, each of which is represented by a poslanik (Livarian: посланик), literally 'representative' in parliament. Representatives are elected under a mixed voting system, where 50% of the seats are distributed under party lists with a 5% election threshold and 50% through first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies. They hold office for five year terms, whereafter they run for re-election to maintain their seat.

In contrast to the Rada, the Noble Assembly (Livarian: Благоро́дне Зібра́ння; Blahorodne Zibrannya), is a mixed representative body made up of hereditary peers, appointed peers and elected peers that hold their seat for life. The majority of the 689-strong assembly are made up of the heads of the leading noble stims of Livaria. The rules around these hereditary seats vary, with no single convention or law that stipulates how they are selected. However, most are by convention or law either inherited or elected from within the stim itself, with the monarch-elect subsequently appointing the individual chosen thereafter. Outside of these stim seats, 100 seats are constitutionally reserved for non-noble stim heads, and are elected. These seats are held for life, but are non-inheritable. Elections for these 'reserved' seats are conventionally held at the same time as Rada general elections, though the process has been highly criticised for being overly complex and often results in low-turnout. In a similar process to the election of the monarch-elect, the Noble Assembly collectively draws up a short list of candidates for those seats that are vacant (i.e. replacing those members that have died, been expelled or relinquished their seat in the intervening years since the last vote), with the general voting public then electing their replacement.

Administrative divisions

The Regal Republic of Livaria is divided between Metropolitan Livaria, made up of the three home islands of Livarskiy, Belohor and Zolotar located in Anaria, and various overseas territories across Gotha. The administrative and geographic division of Metropolitan Livaria dates back over a thousand years, and the modern administrative system has evolved from the ancient regions and various acts of Parliament since the 7490s which attempted to formalise and rationalise the complex traditional systems of administration.

Today, Metropolitan Livaria is divided into 15 regions (Livarian: округа; okruha), which are in turn divided into 112 povits (повіт) and the smallest administrative level, districts, known as raions (район).

Military

Main article: Livarian Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Regal Republic of Livaria (Livarian: Збройні Сили Королівської Республіки Ліварії, tr. Zbroyni Syly Korolivsʹkoyi Respubliky Livariyi), sometimes abbreviated to the ZSL, are the combined military forces of Livaria, with the King-elect as Supreme Commander-in-Chief. They are divided into three main branches, the Livarian Army, the Livarian Navy, and the Livarian Air Service. The ZSL is managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Supreme Defence Committee, nominally chaired by the King-elect but by convention directed by the Chancellor as head of government.

Livaria is a nuclear armed global power and her military, naval, aerial and strategic forces are amongst the largest and most advanced in the world. The country retains various power projection assets, including a navy that operates multiple aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare vessels, as well as long-range strategic bombing and nuclear strike capabilities. Livaria's annual defence expenditure in 7689 was Ꞡ 166.3 billion, representing 3.7% of its GDP - making it one of the largest military spenders on Gotha. As the largest military in terms of capability and spending in Anaria, Livaria is also a major arms producer, and is one of the largest exporters of defence equipment on Gotha.

Livaria is one of the Nuclear Five and is party to the Accord for Restrained Arms and International Harmony (ARAIH), and as such has a stockpile of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. The Livarian Navy and Air Service form the cornerstone of Livaria's nuclear deterrent, operating the Vodyanyy Wyrm-class (Livarian: Водяний змій; Vodyanyy zmiy, literally water dragon) submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and the Vigilance (Livarian: Пильність; Pyl'nist) long-range strategic bombers, alongside various other tactical bomber aircraft capable of deploying medium-range air-to-ground Nightingale (Livarian Соловейко; Soloveyko) cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. Given her geography and geopolitical rivalry with the neighbouring Stolvic Commonwealth, Livaria also has one of the most advanced and dense air defence networks in Gotha, known as the Integrated Home Air Defence Network.

The ZSL operates numerous overseas bases across Gotha, in directly controlled Livarian overseas territories, leased sovereign bases as well as in allied states. Aligning with Livaria's minilateral foreign policy, Rubizhne cultivates varying degrees of military cooperation with a large number of states across the planet, including as a member of the North Anarian Air Defence System and contributing military resources to ICoN's Security and Peace Committee. However, Livaria's most prominent international military relationship is its role in OSSO and the Triarchy, wherein it takes part in minilateral military operations with its principal allies Ithrien and Kamura.

Demographics

With a population of 123,816,597 inhabitants as of 7690, Livaria is the second most populous state in Anaria (after Helreich), and the 11th most populous state on Gotha. Since the industrial revolution, Livaria has had a very high population density, which currently stands at around 311.73 inhabitants per km2. This makes the Regal Republic the third most densely populated country on Gotha that isn't a city or island state. Over 90% of the Livarian population live in cities, and there are particular concentrations of high density in the eastern regions of Livarskiy island, including the highly-built up string of cities around the capital, Rubizhne. The Greater Rubizhne Metropolitan Area, colloquially known as the 'Rubokruh', is one of the largest urban metropoleis in the world.

In 7688, the average total fertility rate (TFR) across Metropolitan Livaria stood at 1.81 children born per woman, which is notably below the replacement rate of 2.1. Livaria's natural birth rate has been in decline for the last couple of centuries since its demographic transition in the 7300s. Nevertheless, Livaria's overall population has continued to grow steadily given relatively high migration rates in recent decades. Foreign arrivals and Livarian-born children of migrants currently account for an estimated half of the population increase in Metropolitan Livaria. Given lower birth rates and relatively low death rates, Livaria has an aging population, with an average age of 36.8 as of 7690.