Bergelland

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Bergelland
bergelland.jpg
Flag of Bergelland
Motto: "Ad augusta per angusta"'
No Map Available
Region North Atlantic
Capital Swansea
Official Language(s) English
Leader Ludmilla IV
Population 717,000,000
Currency Crown 
NS Sunset XML

The Grand Principality of Bergelland is a huge, devout nation, renowned for its complete absence of social welfare. It is located on the North Atlantic ocean, on its very own continent.

It has a hard-nosed, cynical population of seven hundred seventeen million. It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt government stops and the rest of society begins, but it devotes most of its attentions to Law & Order, with areas such as Social Equality and Social Welfare receiving no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 69%, and even higher for the wealthy. A robust private sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry.

The nation's gigantic Air Force is both respected and feared, every citizen must submit to DNA testing to be eliminated from police inquiries, phone taps are frequently carried out by the police, and the nation is ravaged by daily union strikes. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education. Bergelland's national animal is the Royal Wolf, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, also home to the national flower, the Bergian Lion’s Paw, and its currency is the Crown, with €1 worth around U$0.58.

Bergelland was named after its ancient inhabitants, the Berger people.

Geography

Country Name

  • Long Form: The Grand Principality of Bergelland
  • Short Form: Bergelland
  • Country Code: BGL

Location

North Atlantic Ocean, in its own continent.

Maritime Claims

Territorial Sea: 30nm

Climate

Cool, but not cold winters and warm, but not hot, summers, and an annual temperature average of around 10°C. Precipitation is heavy throughout the year, with no ‘dry’ season.

Terrain

Predominantly grasslands, plains and gentle hills, broken by broad river valleys and a few low mountain ranges.

Capital

Swansea

People

Population: 717,000,000

Life Expectancy at Birth

45 years due to genetic predisposition

Nationality

Bergian

Races and Ethnic Groups

Bergelland has remained isolated from outside cultures and influences for a very long time, especially with the Anti-Migration Acts which date back to 890 CE. The population make-up reflects that, with 100% of the population descending from the ancient Berger people.

Religion

Religion plays a very important part on daily Bergian life. The ancient Bergian religion is practiced by 94% of the population, with a 4% minority of Christians. Other religions only account for 2% of the population.

Languages

English was brought to Bergelland with its first inhabitants thousands of years ago and has remained the official language ever since then.

Literacy

The government spends over 300 billion per year in education, 19% of the government budget, and this reflects in the high literacy rate for the Bergian people. It is one of the few countries that can claim a real 100% literacy rate in the world.

Government

Bergelland is a pure theocracy, ruled by a Grand Holy Princess, herself the incarnation of the Mother. Ludmilla, the fourth, is the current Grand Holy Princess of Bergelland. The coronation process has remained unchanged since the First Daughter. The Princess becomes pregnant (Bergian princesses are the only recorded cases of parthenogenesis in human beings) at her coronation, immediately after her First Bleeding (invariably at the age of 8). On the day of her daughter’s First Bleeding she is ritually disincarnated to join Gaia on her heavenly domain.

Individual citizens can propose laws to be vetoed or sanctioned by the Princess. Daily audiences with her are conceded, so that the people can voice their concerns, problems or suggestions.

Judiciary

Due to the low levels of crime in Bergelland, the Judiciary system is quite simple. Cases of major criminal offenses, such as murder, sexual assault and kidnapping are judged by the Princess herself. Cases that do not fall into the major criminal offense category are usually prosecuted and sentenced by the arresting officers themselves.

Economy

The Bergian economy has been suffering heavily in the last weeks with a significant crisis. Per capita income has decreased over 50% in a matter of weeks. Economists are still surprised by this sudden change in the Bergian economy and are yet to found a cause for the crisis.

Due to the traditionally isolationist policy, it is only barely affected by international economy problems, which, coupled to the steady growth of the internal market has made it one of the most solid economies in the world, until the previously mentioned crisis.

The manufacturing and services sectors are responsible for around 65% of the Gross Domestic Product, although agriculture also plays a large part in economy, being responsible for 25% of the GDP. The Bergian concern with the environment comes from way before the Industrial Revolution, this has made the country one of the cleanest in the world.

Basic Principles

The Bergian economy is based around what local economists call ‘The Production Cycle Economy’. The government keeps low corporate tax rates, offering subsides to most companies. These subsided companies sign an agreement with the government to keep a certain margin of profit in order to maintain low consumer prices, increasing consumption. The increased consumption requires large production scales, which in turn, create a number of jobs, which helps the market grow.

Energy

Bergelland has reasonable reserves of oil and natural gas, all of them unexplored. This is due to the fact that the Second Bergian Industrial Revolution was not fueled by oil, but instead (and quite surprisingly, actually) by ethanol. The country ranks as one of the top importers of sugar cane in the world and as one of the top producers of ethanol. All energy provided to Bergian cities comes from alternative and renewable sources. Wind farms are fairly common throughout the country, usually doubling as navigational aids for ships and planes, which usually cannot rely on magnetic compasses due to the magnetic anomaly present in the country. Most of the energy, however, comes from nuclear plants.

Agriculture

The Bergian geography greatly favors agriculture and the frequent rain usually removes the need for complicated irrigation systems, as precipitation throughout the whole day is common. The Environment Act of 1889 forbids the use of pesticides and certain chemical fertilizers, which has led to a large-scale adoption of organic farming techniques. Bergelland is largely self-sufficient in the sector, importing only around 21% of its consumption, most being of sugar cane. Cattle is usually raised free, and its main use is for milking.

Fishery

Despite its large population of fish, fishery is not even closely as heavy as in other countries with similar conditions. Fishery is tightly regulated within the Bergian Exclusive Economic Zone, the habitat for many endemic species. There have been recorded cases of foreign fishing boats being boarded or sunk by the Bergian Navy.

Manufacture

The sector accounts for 30% of the total economic output of the country, being highly developed. The government has signed agreements with most of the companies in the sector, limiting automation, which safeguards many jobs every year. Recently, huge numbers of blue collar workers have been investing on better qualification, which will probably force the government to revoke the so-called ‘No Robots Agreements’ in the near future. Commonly produced goods include weapons, electronic components and devices, computer parts, heavy machinery, transport equipment etc. In the recent years, the Information Technology industry has grown to rather huge proportions, and today includes the two largest Bergian companies.

Services

The service sector accounts for around 35% of the total GDP. Banking, local telecommunications and specially transport (which alone, accounts for 12% of the GDP) are all major sectors. The Bergian public transportation system is amongst one of the largest in the world, and is highly integrated, serving over 1 and a half billion passengers per day.