Pontinia

The Commonwealth of Pontinia is a small, devout nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape. Its hard-nosed population of 10 million are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and Religion & Spirituality. The average income tax rate is 23%, but much higher for the wealthy. A substantial private sector is led by the Furniture Restoration industry, followed by Pizza Delivery and Basket Weaving.

Political parties are banned from advertising and receiving private donations, the mining industry is making inroads into environmentally sensitive areas, citizens can be frequently spotted going about their business stark naked, and citizens select which government department gets their income tax sovereigns each year. Crime is relatively low, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pontinia's national animal is the eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the sovereign.

Pontinia is ranked 90th in the region and 33,005th in the world for Most Income Equality. Pontinia is ranked 149th in the region and 63,653rd in the world for Largest Information Technology Sector. 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