Pontinia

The Commonwealth of Pontinia is a small, pleasant nation, remarkable for its burgeoning eagle population. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 8 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Healthcare, and Social Welfare. The average income tax rate is 18%. A substantial private sector is led by the Furniture Restoration industry, followed by Basket Weaving and Pizza Delivery.

Voting is voluntary. Crime is moderate. Pontinia's national animal is the eagle and its currency is the sovereign.

Pontinia is ranked 72,754th in the world for Largest Arms Manufacturing Sector.

Political Viewpoint

Pontinia is a strong believer in, and protector of, human rights and freedoms. It is classed as an Inoffensive Centrist Democracy by the NSUN. Pontinia will not back down unless is can be shown categorically that it has made an error (which does not happen very often), and will not hesitate to fight for what it believes is right.

Military

Pontinia's army is of less-than-average size, but is highly efficient and well-trained. Pontinia's navy is very well-equipped, with many of its shis based on Proteus designs - the best available. Most notable is the battleship CNS Hannibal, a Carthago II class battleship, considered to be one of the best in the world. It also uses several highly advanced submarines, such as the CNS Victor attack submarine, and is in the process of deploying its first super-dreadnought ships - the Grecia class. Pontinia's air force is the largest of its three armed forces. It is larger than the air force of any country of comparable size, and is made up of highly trained pilots. The majority of its forces are made up of Artemis fighter-bombers, and uses highly advanced carriers such as the CAS Aggamemnon - an air-carrier which Pontinia bought from Proteus for an undisclosed sum.

Government Officials

Head of State: Jonathan Andersen

Minsiter of Internal Affairs: William Armstrong

United Nations Representative: Laura Goldfield

Minister for Industry: Henry Jackson

Minister for Science and Medicine: Rebecca Lewis

Minister for Education: Sarah Webster

Minister for Religion: Sofia Chu

Chief Military Co-Ordinator: Charles Highbury

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Alexander Wentworth

United Nations Representative: Rachel Carling

Ambassador: James Pickering