Werania

Weranian Confederation Ostischer Bund
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: In Treue fest Steadfast in loyalty
Anthem: Was ist des Ostischen Vaterland? What is the Weranic’s fatherland? Royal anthem: Die Nation, das Gesetz, der König The Nation, the Law, the King
Location of  Werania  (dark green) – in Euclea  (light green & dark grey) – in the Euclean Community  (light green)
Capital	Westbrücken
Largest city	Wiesstadt
Official languages	Weranian
Recognised regional languages	Ruttish
Ethnic groups	Weranic, Ruttish, Aldman
Demonym(s)	Weranian
Government	Federal parliamentary elective monarchy
• Federal President	Charlotte II
• Premier	Otto von Hößlin (NKP)
• Vice-Premier	Käthe Schickdanze (DA)
Legislature	Bundestag
• Upper house	House of Councillors
• Lower house	House of Deputies
Formation
• Unification	17 March 1842
• Ascension to the Euclean Community	1955
Population
• 2014 estimate	58,579,684
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$2,767,931 million
• Per capita	$44,231
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$2,631,134 million
• Per capita	$42,045
Gini	33.5 medium
HDI	0.925 very high
Currency	Euclo (EUC (€))
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+19
Internet TLD	.we

Werania (Weranian: Ostischland [ˈɔstɪʃˌlant]) officially the Weranian Confederation (Weranian: Ostischer Bund) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state in northern Euclea bordering Kirenia to the southwest, Alsland and Estmere to the southeast, Borland and Azmara to the southeast and sharing a maritime border with Scovern to the north. Its capital is Westbrücken and its largest city is Wiesstadt.

Weranian history dates back to the emergence of Weranic tribes during antiquity. The southern tribes of Werania would migrate to Estmere and would be credited with causing the collapse of the Solarian Empire. Following the fall of the Solarian Empire these tribes began increasingly organising into petty kingdoms large in reaction to the Verliquoian Empire. In 500CE the region became briefly under the authority of King Rudolf the Magnificent. Rudolf's empire splintered after his death, but in 574 CE the kingdoms under the authority of the Kingdom of Cislania formed the Rudolphine Confederation, a confederation of states wherein they remained independent but united under the authority of the elected Emperor of the Rudolphine Confederation. The Confederation would come to attempt to assert hegemony in the area, and as such faced numerous wars with its neighbours including Scovern, Caldia and Kirenia. The Confederation would see its constituent states come to conflict in the Amendist Wars with the spread of Amendism in the region leading to the confederation to weaken hugely at the expense of its neighbours, particularly Estmere and Kirenia. This was execerbated when the majority of the confederation fought in the losing side of the Ten Years' War.

Bankruptcy, centralisation, feudalism, the unpopularity of Emperor Leopold III and the successful revolution in Etruria led to the Weranian Revolution which saw the Confederation dissolved, absolute monarchy repudiated and the Republic of Werania declared under the Declaration of Man and His Natural Rights. The republic was invaded by its neighbours and dissolved in 1801, being being divided into several kingdoms once again but left a potent legacy of pan-Weranicism. During the 1800's the reformed Kingdom of Cislania through a series of conquests, royal marriages and diplomatic annexations was able to unify the disparate states. Under King Rudolf VI in 1842 the Weranian Confederation was proclaimed as a federal state.

Werania would quickly industrialise and amass a colonial empire in Coius becoming a great power in the process especially after the War of the Triple Alliance. Werania's rise to great power meant during this period it had poor relations with its traditional rival Kirenia and their allies Gaullica and Soravia, with Werania aligning increasingly more with Estmere and Etruria. Werania would as a result be heavily involved during the Great War against Gaullica with Werania playing a large role in defeating Gaullican forces in 1934. Following the war Werania was embroiled with a new rivalry with Kirenia due to anti-socialist sentiments which eventually led to the Kirenian-Weranian War which saw a defeat for Weranian forces. This spurred the decolonisation of the Weranian colonial empire and its entry into the Euclean Community, since retaining its position as one of the world's largest economies.

Werania is a liberal democracy, and has a mixed market economy based around finance, industry and agriculture. It also has a welfare state with subsidised healthcare and education. It is a prominent member of the Community of Nations, Euclean Community, Northern Forum and International Council for Democracy. It also is one of the few states to possess nuclear weapons.

Etymology

'Ōsaithaz = Our Oath (originally to an anti-Solarian character I think, I can't quite remember) Ostisch = Modern form of above Exonym origin: Gaullish: Tarchwéran Exonym – Werania Endonym – Ostischland'

History

Main article: History of Werania

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence dates human presence in Werania to at least 600,000 years ago, with the discovery of complete hunting javelins dating to 380,000 years ago in coal mines in Western Weranland. The Goel valley in Werania was the location where the first ever non-modern human fossil was discovered and recognised in 1856; the new species of human was named Goelerthal man.

Antiquity (6th century BCE–10th century CE)

• Germanic tribes
• Christianisation of the area
• Development of !Frankish empire

Middle Ages (10th century-15th century)

• Beginning of the Rudolphine Confederation
• Crusade against paganism in northern Werania
• Innovations (eg. printing press) and expansion of kingdoms

Reformation (15th century-1785)

• Amendist reaction; development particularly in the north of the confederation
• Amendist Wars
• Centralisation of the confederation
• Counter-reformation
• *clicks the bankruptcy button; surprised pikachu at minus stability*

Revolutionary period (1785-1842)

Main articles: Weranian Revolution and Weranian Unification

The Rudolphine Confederation structural problems in the late 1700's had reached a zenith by 1785. The central imperial government, led by Leopold III, had launched centralisation measures particularly in the raising of revenue which had not been accompanied by a centralisation of military matters nor an end to the particularisms and often complex administrative makeup of the confederations member states. Leopold III had undermined noble privileges which weakened his support amongst the confederations traditional supporters.

Volkstracht republicans celebrating the declaration of the republic.

In 1785 revolutionaries marched on the palace of Hochgäu inspired by similar revolutions in Rayenne and Etruria; the noble armies that sustained the confederation failed to rally to Leopold III, leading him to abdicate. A National Diet declared the Declaration of the Rights of Man, with the National Diet being mainly dominated by moderate constitutional monarchists. Between September 1785 to January 1786 the revolutionaries had taken control over most of the Confederation.

A failed attempt by the monarchy to return to power known as the March of the 100 was thwarted by the revolutionaries. The moderates in the National Diet were overthrown by the Brotherhood for the Rights of Man, a far more radical grouping that believed in the Cult of Rationalism that amongst other things emphasised republicanism, centralisation, rationalism, intense anti-clericalism and militarism calling for the mobilisation of vast citizen-armies based on republican virtue. The Brotherhood under the influence of Franz Xaver Dobrizhoffer and Sigmund Auerswald soon declared the Republic of Werania which abolished the nobility, seized church landholdings and increasingly advocated for a rationalist state based around the Weranian nation. The republic was the first unified polity considered to be a properly Weranian state.

The republic was soon engaged in conflict with all its neighbours, most prominently Estmere and Kirenia, over its attempts to export the revolution to other countries. The republic successfully through meritocratic officer promotion, the massenaushebung" and a strong sense of nationalism and civic virtue was able to assemble a very large army that successfully was able to dominate north Euclea under the command of Balthasar Hötzendorf. However the envelopment of Euclea in revolutionary wars when Soravia, Estmere, Kirenia and Gaullica all worked against revolutionary Etruria and Werania worked against the republics and by 1801 the Weranian republic had surrendered to occupying forces.

Following the defeat of the Weranian Republic the great powers attempted to restore the pre-revolutionary status quo. However this proved impossible with the republican's abolition of many noble titles and confiscation of their land and the recreation of the Weranian lands along rationalist lines. A partial restoration of several larger kingdoms was undertaken mostly under the influence of Kirenia and Estmere; however many aspects of the republic particularly its civil code remained in place.

A map of the Weranian states following the Congress of Harimisaareke in 1801.

The new collection of kingdoms were unpopular with the increasingly nationalist population despite support from the old elite and Catholic church. During this period the "Weranian Question" emerged which questioned whether the Weranian lands should be united and if so what constituted the Weranian nation. Increasingly both movements that attempted to delineate a common Weranian culture such as Marius Schwerdtfeger's Ostisch Sagen and revolutionary movements that sought to promote a restoration of the republic such as the Septemberists converged to promote Weranian nationalism.

In 1828 a series of revolutions broke out across the Weranian states that declared a confederation. When the monarchs attempted to crush these revolutionaries the latter responding by ousting them; this led to Kirenia to intervene and crush the revolutionary movement. Nationalists however subsequently found a strong ally in Ulrich von Bayrhoffer, the Minister-President of Cislania who had pan-Weranicist goals. In 1836 revolutionaries in Bonnlitz-Ostbrücken, then under a personal union with Scovern, invaded the province defeating the Scoverne forces and inviting Cislania to replace the Scoverne's; Scovern responded by declaring war on Cislania which saw Estmere intervene in favour of Cislania, making Cislania the de facto leader of the Weranian cause.

A dispute over the succession of the throne of Prizen in 1841 saw Cislania face off against a coalition of states led by the Kingdom of Roetenberg and backed by Kirenia. The subsequent War of Weranian Unification saw Cislania defeat the other states. Rather then directly annex them the states instead agreed to form a single federation of Weranian states. The Weranian Confederation was subsequently declared on the 17 March 1842 with Westbrücken as the capital and the Cislanian king becoming Rudolf IV, claiming lineage through the old Rudolphine monarchs.

19th century and Great War (1842-1935)

The burning of the Katterburg palace during the Easter Revolution.

The unification of Werania saw the addition of the Grand Duchy of Wolfsfled and Free City of Kolreuth occur in Spring 1843. The new Weranian state was considered by most to a great power especially due to the increasing decline of Kirenia and to be amongst the more liberal in Euclea; it had a comparatively large franchise, freedom of the press and speech outside lèse-majesté legislation and a seperation of church and state. The dominant figures in the post-unification state were the monarch Rudolf IV and Premier Ulrich von Bayrhoffer. Continued pan-Weranicist and revolutionary agitation led to Werania to in 1852 start the War of the Triple Alliance between Werania and Estmere against an alliance of Kirenia, Soravia and Gaullica with the intent of annexing Weranic areas of Kirenia. Although technically inconclusive the defeat of Kirenian and Soravian armies on the field led to the war to be considered an Esmtero-Weranian victory with Werania annexing Ruttland and the Zinngebirge Basin from Kirenia.

The country was pushed to the brink of civil war twice in the next decade. The 1856 Easter Revolution in Wiesstadt by republicans and socialists attempted to overthrow the monarchy under Adalbert; although the attempt failed it led to the political elite to increasingly move away from its more liberal inclinations and towards a more conservative posture. This was encouraged by Adalbert who confirmed a strong alliance between the state and the monarchy. In 1861 the Jurgaitytė Uprising saw Ruttish nationalists led by Nida Jurgaitytė attempted to declare an independent Ruttland. Despite support from abroad particularly from Gaullica the rebels were defeated although it spurred the contentious "Ruttish question" to dominate Weranian politics for the next decade.

Werania's foreign policy during this period was focused on maintaining the alliance with Estmere and expanding its political and commercial influence. Werania spearheaded a colonial empire in Rahelia, Bahia and Southeast Coius. The Weranian Empire was marked by settler colonialism particularly in modern day Maucha. Werania also began a policy of improving ties with Etruria in south Euclea and Marchenia in the Asterias, whilst relations with the former Triple Alliance powers Soravia, Gaullica and Kirenia remained cold.

The country began to quickly industrialise during the 1850's and 1860's emerging as the world's third largest industrial power after Gaullica and Estmere. The industrialisation was concentrated in the southeast of the country and the Ruttish-Zinngebirge region, with the north of the country remaining predominantly agricultural. This was encouraged by the continued expansion of rail infrastructure within the country. A banking reform in the 1880's saw Wiesstdadt become the second largest financial centre in Euclea after Verlois. By the turn of the century Werania had entered what was considered a golden age. Universal male suffrage was implemented in 1906 which led to a proliferation of new political and social movements, most notably the Weranic Section of the Workers' International. The country was considered to be characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and technological, scientific and cultural innovations

The Weranian Army during the Great War.

The 1913 crash of the Wiesstadt stock market led to the beginning of the Great Collapse, thereby hitting Werania early. The collapse of the Weranian economy threw the nation into instability; political polarisation sharply increased between a left divided between reformist gradualism and revolutionary violence and a right similarly advocating for constitutional democracy and reactionary authoritarianism. This heightened due to both the election of the left-wing united front government from 1918 to 1922 and the April Revolution in Kirenia; these events led to the formation of political militia's who often engaged in street fighting. During this period the international rise of functionalist Gaullica led to Werania to entrench its alliance with Estmere as well as support Senria against Shangea in south Coius and begin reconciliation with Soravia which had become increasingly Gallophobic.

At the outbreak of the Great War in 1927 Werania joined the Grand Alliance alongside Estmere, Soravia and Senria declaring war on Gaullica and the wider Entente. Following the fall of Morwall in 1929 Gaullica led an invasion of Werania occupying Ruttland and placing under a collaborationist regime whilst the rest of Werania remained under the control of the government. Werania would play the decisive role in the liberation of Estmere in 1933 and with the invasion of Gaullica in 1934 thanks to its highly mechanised army and movement war tactics, with Weranian troops reaching Verlois and forcing the Armistice in spring 1934 heralding the defeat of the Gaullican Empire. Weranian colonial troops in Southeast Coius continued to fight Entente forces until the surrender of Shangea in early 1935.

In the ensuring peace Werania ensured that large sections of Gaullica remained demilitarised and that Gaullica paid large amounts of reparations to Werania as well as acquiring mandates in Yemet and other parts of northern Bahia. Werania also was a signatory of the Community of Nations charter and became a permanent member of its security council. However despite the victory Werania was devastated from the war - 1.5 million Weranian soldiers (or 4% of the country's population) died during the war, one of the largest casualty rates in Euclea, whilst parts of its industry were destroyed.

Modern period (1935-present)

The aftermath of the war saw a reopening of political tensions particularly following the assassination of Leopold IV in 1936 with right-wing factions taking increasing control of the government marginalising the political left. This also led to Werania's relations with its erstwhile Grand Alliance allies to sour - relations with Kirenia all but collapsed whilst they remained cold with Soravia. Werania attempted to balance between Estmere and Etruria but increasingly came to alienate both particularly following the Legionary Reaction.

The Weranian colonial empire at its height following the Great War.

Post-war Werania saw the nation continue to struggle with economic recession. The government dealt with rising rural to urban migration and overpopulation of cities through encouraging emigration to the colonial empire, particularly Silberküste and the new mandate of Obergond (located in modern day Yemet). These measures helped alleviate the conditions in the metropole but sparked increasing anti-colonialist movements in the empire as white minority rule was increasingly entrenched, leading to a series of colonial wars mostly foguht in modern day Maucha. This came in the same context as increasing authoritarianism from the right-wing National Bloc governments that governed the country from the late 1930's to 1950. The National Bloc governments would move Werania to increasingly become a pariah state being friendly with neo-functionalists in Satucin and most dramatically Etruria. Werania would be the only permanent member of the CN Security Council not to participate in the Solarian War, ultimately abstaining on intervention against Etruria.  

The Bader-Schmidt Plan implemented in 1942 led to the revival of the Weranian economy under the großkombinats system, although anti-union legislation led to continued social disruption between the workers' and middle classes. Right-wing conspiracies about Kirenian involvement in the continued colonial struggles and socialist and Ruttish nationalist agitation at home led to an increasing belief by the domestic far-right, military and government in intervention against Kirenia which led to the invasion in Kirenia in 1949 and the start of the Kirenian-Weranian War. The war saw a defeat for Weranian forces and the loss of Western Uschupes and the Zinngebirge Basin to Kirenia. An attempted coup by radical officers after the signing of the peace treaty led to the collapse of the National Bloc and the rise of the Tripartite governments consisting of socialists, social democrats and Sotirian democrats.

The new government continued the corporatism of the previous government albeit with a social element, spearheaded the mass expansion of the welfare state, undertook a radical programme of decolonisation dismantling the Weranian colonial empire and becoming firmly pro-Euclean in foreign policy, with Werania joining the Euclean Community in 1955 alongside Caldia and Scovern. Although the tripartite government would fall in 1955 to be replaced by three decades of conservative rule under the National Consolidation Party the essential underpinnings of the new social consensus - pro-Eucleanism and social corporatism within the framework of a free market and democratic society - remained the same. Werania would develop nuclear weapons shortly after the Kirenian-Weranian War.

Student demonstrators during the 1972 protests.

The new social contract frayed over time as youth counter-culture and other social and political movements - feminism, environmentalism and LGBT+ activism - became more important in Weranian society, particularly in the late 1960's. The conservatism of the Weranian state led to the 1972 student protests that morphed into a general strike. Although the conservative government prevailed it reinforced the victory of societal forces of individualism, secularism and sexual liberation over the old religious and political authority of the Weranian state. The protests also led to the withdrawal of Weranian troops from the Siamat War. There was also some domestic terrorism from Ruttish groups in this period although this largely faded during the 1980's.

The 1980 recession saw a collapse of the Weranian economy and new political shifts as the left regained power for the first time since 1922. Although this did not result in the creation of a socialist society that many on the left hoped for it did lead to an entrenchment and expansion of social liberalisation measures that had become popular in the 1970's, the dismantling of the corporatist system and a more strident pro-Eucleanism, the latter of which led to Weranian support for the creation of the Euclo. The 1980's and 1990's saw the move to a two-party system between the centre-right NKP and centre-left Social Democratic Radical Party of Werania.

Since the 2005 financial crisis Werania has remained one of the most developed countries in the world with a modern, industrial economy with a particularly prominent financial sector. Since the 1970's immigration into Werania has become particularly prominent mainly from Southeast Coius and Bahia, although immigration from West Euclea and Rahelia has also been prominent. Issues pertaining to Weranian identity both in the national context and Euclean context have come to dominate Weranian society in the past decade. This has been accompanied by increasing economic stagnation in Werania which has been noted as a problem by political and social commentators.

Geography

• 

  The River Bach, the longest in Werania.

• 

  View of the Cislanian Neeves mountains.

• 

  Lake Eisenfeld in Elbenweis.

• 

  The Platten forest in Ruttland.

Administrative divisions

Werania is a federation divided into tweleve first-level administrative divisions, often informally referred to as the Bundesländer. They are officially divided into a kingdom (königreich), a free state (freistaat; laisva valstybe), two grand duchy (großherzogtum) four duchies (Herzogtum) and two free cities (freie stadt). There is also two dependent territories, Charlotte Island and the Aurora Islands. The free cities are officially headed by Lord Mayors (Oberbürgermeister) who also serve as head of government, whilst the free states are technically headed by their legislatures. Aside the free cities each division are led by head of government known as a minister-presidents (Ministerpräsident) who are appointed by the monarch within the territory. Since the 1900's minister-presidents govern with the confidence of directly elected state diets (Landtag; seimas). As with the federal government local government's cannot be dismissed unless landtags or the seimas can propose an alternative government; if no alternate government is produced the Ministry of Regional Development can appoint a caretaker cabinet to serve out the reminder of the council's term.

Below the Bundesländer are 74 Regierungsbezirke, whose borders originate from the first Weranian republic. Below the Regierungsbezirke sit over 400 rural districts and 50 urban districts, which are further divided into wards (in urban districts) and municipalities (in rural districts).

Bundesländer of Werania

Name and flags	Coat of arms	Capital	Population	Location
Crownland of the Aurora Islands		Niedkirch	132,854	Elbenweis Cislania Roetenberg Kolreuth Prizen Ruttland Bonnlitz-Ostbrücken Westbrücken Wittislich Wolfsfled Charlotte Island
Duchy of Bonnlitz-Ostbrücken		Gothberg	7,679,316
Associated Territory of the Charlotte Island		Lapaha	98,645
Kingdom of Cislania		Wiesstadt	14,469,087
Duchy of Elbenweis		Innsheim	4,245,864
Free City of Kolreuth		Kolreuth	254,684
Duchy of Prizen		Frankendorf	4,126,954
Free State of Ruttland		Lipliškės	10,792,847
Grand Duchy of Roetenberg		Kotzenberg	8,778,322
Free City of Westbrücken		Westbrücken	1,075,896
Duchy of Wittislich		Bürchaft	1,490,565
Grand Duchy of Wolfsfled		Malstadt	5,545,874

Government and Politics

Holder of the Federal Presidency Queen Charlotte II

Premier Otto von Hößlin

Werania has since unification in 1842 been a federal parliamentary de jure elective constitutional monarchy with an independent judiciary, a bicameral legislature known as the Bundestag (with an upper house known as the House of Councillors and a lower house known as the House of Deputies) and an executive known as the Cabinet. The head of state is the Federal Presidency (Präsidium des Bundes or Bundespräsidium) the current holder of whom is the Queen of Roetenberg Charlotte II. The head of government is the Premier of Werania who heads the cabinet the current of whom is Otto von Hößlin. The Bundestag has 232 members of the upper house and 545 in the lower house with the premier and cabinet governing with the confidence of the chamber. In practice the House of Deputies is the more powerful house.

Political system

Main articles: Premier of Werania, Government of Werania, and Bundestag of Werania

The head of state of Werania is the Federal Presidency, often known colloquially as the bundeskönig/königin. . The Federal Presidency is held by one of the five constituent monarchs and is officially elected by the constituent monarchs after the death of abdication of the incumbent, making it a de facto monarchy. Up until 1986 the post was largely hereditary under the House of Schwarzollen-Brücken but after the 1986 Weranian constitutional crisis and the formulation of the Siegberg Convention the post officially rotates between the monarchs. The current holder of the Federal Presidency Charlotte II was the first head of state elected under this system in 1987 being co-currently the Queen of Roetenberg. The federal presidency is also the commander-in-chief of the nation as the Bundesfeldherr (federal general).

The executive government of Werania is the cabinet (bundeskabinett), which has 15 ministers including the Premier (bundesministerpräsident). The premier is officially a primus inter pares acting more as the chairman of the government rather than head of government. Traditionally, executive decisions in Werania are driven by consensus. The cabinet relies on the confidence of the House of Deputies in order to govern. Since 1984 all cabinets in Werania have been multi-party, giving Werania a tradition of coalition governments.

Werania legislature is known as the Bundestag with an upper house known as the House of Councillors and a lower house known as the House of Deputies. The House of Councillors's has 232 members with 116 seats elected every three years under a single non-transferable voting system with House of Councillors members serving six-year terms. The directly elected House of Deputies contains 545 members with 300 elected through proportional representation and 245 through first-past-the-post. Sitting for a term of four years, the House of Deputies officially lends support for the government, but since 1989 it can only dissolve the government it can swear in another government to fill out the previous one’s term — if this is not possible the monarch can appoint a caretaker cabinet to serve the rest of the House of Deputies’s term.

The debating chamber of the House of Deputies.

Political culture

Main article: List of political parties in Werania

Werania’s political culture due to the legacy of deep political divisions during the 19th and 20th centuries has been marked by a sharp divide between the monarchist, Catholic right and the radical, socialist left. The Sotirian democratic National Consolidation Party (NKP) is considered the successor of the traditional Catholic right having been formed out of a merger of Sotirian democrats, monarchist conservatives and national liberals. The social liberal Euclean Werania (EO) is associated with the reformist and radical tradition of the centre and left whilst the Weranic Section of the Workers' International (OSAI) - the oldest party in the country - is seen as representative of more revolutionary and radical socialism.

Since the 1970's newer parties such as the environmentalist Green Party and souverainiste Democratic Alternative have emerged. Other parties are traditionally more ideologically narrow or represent regional-nationalist interests, such as the separatist National Coalition for Independence, social democratic Socialist Workers' Party of Werania or or völkisch Weranic Völkisch Freedom Party.

Werania has since the advent of the early 20th century been marked by a large proliferation of political parties. Although these parties followed various ideologies they tended to either support the republican, socialist tendency dominated by the OSAI and the larger more conservative, monarchist tendency which was represented by a wide array of political parties. The parties of the right merged following the Kirenian-Weranian War into the NKP which would govern in a dominant party system for three decades until the 1980's, when the Social Democratic Radical Party of Werania (SRPO) emerged as the main party of the left. Since the mid-1980's Werania has had a two-party system with the right led by the NKP and left formally led by the SRPO, now merged into the EO, compete for power often in coalitions with smaller parties. The current government is based on a coalition of the NKP and the DA under premier Otto von Hößlin.

The last federal election saw a turnout of 77.91%, generally higher then the Euclean average.

Foreign relations

Premier Ludolf Ostermann, Gaullican president Clélie Gérin-Lajoie and Estmerish prime minister Robert Reynolds in 1984.

Werania is a founding member of the Community of Nations and one of the six permanent members of its security committee. It is also a founding member of the Northern Forum, International Council for Democracy and Euclean Common Defense Treaty Organization. Since 1955 Werania has been a member of the Euclean Community having emerged as one of its most prominent members. Werania tends to shift between multilateralism (predominantly through the EC, NF and ECDTO) and unilateralism in its conduct of foreign policy, although has increasingly relied on the former since the 1980's.

Werania has since unification been noted for its strong bilateral ties with Estmere (known as the the Alte Bruderschaft) with the two maintaining close economic, political and military relations. Werania is also noted for a long-running friendship with Etruria that pre-dates unification. Although traditionally wary of Gaullica since the conclusion of the Great War and entry into the Euclean Community Weranian-Gaullican ties have markedly improved. Throughout its history Werania has enjoyed strong commercial and political links with nations in north Euclea such as Alsland, Azmara, Caldia, Geatland and Scovern. This has not been extended with Kirenia which Werania has had historically poor relations with both due to the presence of the large Weranian population within Kirenian borders and an antagonistic approach to socialist nations which has also stunted relations with nations in the Association for International Socialism and the Mutual Assistance Organisation. Werania has also since the 1940's maintained cool relations with Soravia and the Samorspi nations, albeit is more positive towards them then other Euclean nations.

Outside Euclea, Werania has maintained an active interest in its former colonies in Bahia and Southeast Coius, particularly Yemet and Maucha. It also boasts strong ties with Senria and Marchenia through the North Vehemens Organization and Council for Mutual Security and Development. Werania has traditionally had antagonistic relations with Shangea due to ties with Senria but stronger links with Zorasan due to to a shared anti-socialism and Weranian desire for a stable oil supply. However the creation of the Rongzhuo Strategic Protocol Organisation has weakened these links alongside worsening EC-Zorasani relations linked to the Tsabaran Civil War.

Within the EC Werania has been noted to generally support a souverainiste approach, being less supportive of deeper integration. Nevertheless Werania was strongly supportive of the introduction of the Euclo and was heavily involved in the construction of the Euclean single market. Currently Werania is seen to be distrustful of further expansion of the EC since the failure of the 2016 Etrurian membership referendum, limiting the Euclean ambitions of Piraea and Slirnia.

Werania is the fourth largest source of development aid in the world after Estmere, Gaullica and Senria. Werania's development aid predominantly goes to former colonies in Bahia and southeast Coius. In recent years Werania has increased development aid to Rahelia such as in Nise and Sohar.

Armed forces and intelligence

Top row: Soldiers on parade from the army and a Typhoon multi-role jet.
Bottom row: The SMS Leopold aircraft carrier and a LN17 main battle tank.

The Reichswehr (Realm Defence) serves as the national defence force of Werania, being split between the army (Ostische Landstreitkräfte), navy (Marine von Ostischland), air force (Ostische Luftwaffe) and the military constabulary (Ostische Militärpolizei), a gendarmerie force that is under the authority of the Ministry of Defence.

The monarch serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Bundesfeldherr) whilst the Cabinet via the Ministry of Defence oversees the chiefs of staff and manages the army as a whole. As of 2017, there are 365,835 active soldiers and 52,680 in reserve with Werania spending 2.4% of GDP on defence and the minimum age of recruitment being 18. Werania's armed forces are one of the largest in Euclea. Werania is a recognised nuclear power, maintaining an arsenal of around 180 active nuclear weapons that can be deployed by both air and sea based means. Werania has 87 ships in operation (including a single aircraft carrier) and 568 aircraft, of which 209 of which are combat aircraft (primarily Typhoon multi-role jets).

Werania's foreign policy since the end of the Great War has meant its military has undergone strategic and personnel changes. The Weranian constitution defines Weranian security protocols as being based on the principle of collective security with the army being tasked with protecting the people of Werania and ensuring peace in Euclea. Conscription for all adult males was previously in force until 1996 when it was abolished, with the armed forces being a fully professional army since. Werania maintains a large weapons and aerospace industries.

The main intelligence services of Werania is the General Intelligence Service (Allgemeiner Nachrichtendienst; AND) which handles domestic intelligence and the Strategic Intelligence Service (Strategischer Nachrichtendienst; SND) which handles foreign intelligence. Both fall under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Military Intelligence Service (Militärischer Nachrichtendienst; MND) handles military intelligence matters being under the authority of the Ministry of Defence. In 2010 the government created the Counterterrorism Coordination Unit (Koordinierungsbüro für Terrorismusbekämpfung; KBTK) which handles counter-terrorism actions.

Economy

Wiesstadt's financial district.

Werania possesses a social market economy with partial regulations, low trade barriers and an extensive welfare state. Werania has a GDP PPP of $2,767,931 million and a nominal GDP of $2,631,134 million, making it the second largest economy in Euclea after Gaullica. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for setting government expenditure and implementing government financial policy, whilst the Zentralbank acts as the central bank within the Euclozone banking system with Werania using the Euclo as the national currency formally using the Reichsmark.

The predominant sector of the economy is services with 72.5% of the workforce employed in service industries followed by industry which employs 23.9%. Agriculture is the smallest employing only 3.6% of the workforce. The workforce as of 2020 numbers around 26,794,042 people according to numbers published by the Federal Statistics Office.

Services make up two-thirds of the economy of which finance is the major component, with Werania and its largest city Wiesstadt is considered to be the main financial centre of Euclea. Werania's diversified economy also is notable for its pharmaceutical, arms, aerospace infrastructure and automotive industries. Werania's economy also has basis in agriculture, transportation, telecommunication services and tourism. The Weranian government has majority shares in the railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications, albeit since the 1990's it has started to corpratise or partially privatise these industries.

During the 1940's the Weranian government managed the economy through dirigisme, with a strong focus on manufacturing leading Werania into doubling its economic growth between 1930-1964. During the 1980's the economy was shifted to a social market economy, with a stronger focus on both the welfare state and market competition; the latter drive led to privatisation to be embraced. The government cut corporation tax leading to many companies to move to Werania; investment in science and technology increased substantially as the government sought to make Werania into a technology hub. Werania had a real estate bubble that existed from 2000 (when the capital gains tax was cut from 42.5% to 18.6%) to 2005 when the bubble collapsed leading to Werania to enter recession - the economy remained in recession until 2012 when growth returned.

Economic history

Werania was one of the earliest nations to undergo the industrial revolution in the 1820's with the Cislanian-Azmaran border being the first bases for modern industrial production. Weranian industrialisation was noted to often work in tandem with Estmere with Estmerish-Weranian competition driving industrial growth in northern Euclea. Weranian industrialisation was marked by a strong financial sector in Wiesstadt and often large corporations based in cities competing with small but efficient mittelstands which were often based in small towns growing out of traditional handicraft local economies. These industrial trends were strongest in Cislania but soon spread to large parts of central Werania. Unification led to the rise of the Ostdorf-Innsheim-Frankendorf megalopolis. Strong steel and coal production in this region and around Wiesstadt also helped continue this industrialisation.

A train factory in Cislania during the industrial revolution.

Economic growth was largely consistent during the latter half of the 19th century in Werania with the rural population halving from over 80% in 1842 to 40% five decades later. The most innovative economic sector was banking, with Wiesstadt coming second to Verlois as the global capital of banking in the 1880's before reaching further to the top in the 1900's, facilitated by a strong national bank (the Zentralbank) and aggressive private firms. Reforms to agriculture also resulted in that sector becoming more efficient although it still lagged behind Gaullica, Soravia and Etruria. Werania by the turn of the century was as such dominated by a strong banking sector and industrial cartels that relied on a mix of government and private financing to dominate most of industrial production.

The Great Collapse began due to the collapse of the Wiesstadt stock exchange making Werania the first nation to be impacted by the crisis. The Weranian government applied tariffs in response to the collapse as well as pull investments out of other countries; however as Weranian banks had become effectively internationalised this resulted in the rest of the global economy to decline. Werania would only begin to recover from the collapse in 1917 when premier Gustav de Maizière pulled Werania from the gold standard although the effect of labour reforms by the 1918-1922 popular front government and the delayed rearmament programme complicated the recovery. During the Great War the Weranian economy saw a reduction of unemployment but also sustained widespread industrial destruction especially during the Gaullican occupation of Ruttland. During the war in order to streamline production the Weranian government approved the creation of großkombinat's which took the form of industrial conglomerates made up of a large amount of diversified affiliates and controlled by an owner or family with a vertically organised management structure.

The war resulted in the destruction of a large amount of Weranian industry and a reliance on repreparation payments from Gaullica to finance reconstruction efforts. Economic reconstruction was based around the Bader-Fritz plan which called for a short period of rapid economic deregulation following the war mainly in the form of devaluing the Reichsmark and abolishing price controls followed by a period of state intervention where the government in concert with the großkombinats would use indicative planning to direct economic reconstruction. The Bader-Fritz plan succeeded in restoring pre-war industrial production and downplaying unemployment but rested upon long working hours and low wages which failed to lead to the glut of consumption the Weranian government had anticipated. Colonial conflicts also complicated growth especially for industries reliant on colonial resources.

Westbrücken during the 1970's.

The Kirenian-Weranian War and cessation of Western Uschupes and the Zinngebirge Basin that resulted from it set back Werania's industrial capacity. However the war convinced Weranian leaders to adopt a Euclean social model. The tripartite governments of socialists, social democrats and Catholics nationalised some banks and other large industries alongside maintaining the großkombinat system as well as expand the system of social services and integrate trade unions into industry enabling more equitable bargaining practices. This was continued by subsequent conservative governments with top-down economic planning and massive infrastructure projects combined with increasing urbanisation underpinning high economic growth. The expansion of the Weranian economy from 1950 to 1980 is commonly considered to be an economic miracle (wirtschaftswunder) and saw the development of mass consumerism, home ownership and the strong growth of the middle class with high social mobility.

The so-called wirtschaftswunder economy declined throughout the 1970's. Recession was avoided with measures such as the implementation of a comprehensive incomes policy and cutting public service wages, although these led to stunted domestic consumption leading to the großkombinats to incur far higher debt through borrowing. The devaluation of the Reichsmark in the late 1970's helped lead to the bubble of constant mergers and acquisitions by the großkombinats to burst when the fourth largest company in Werania, the Einem Group, filed for bankruptcy due to unpaid debts in 1980. The großkombinats debts were not only to state industrial banks but also to independent banks and their own financial services subsidiaries. The scale of the loan defaults meant that banks could neither foreclose nor write off bad loans without themselves collapsing, so the failure to service these debts quickly caused a systemic banking crisis leading to the Weranian government had to inject billions into banks and take a loan from the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs.

The election of a left-wing coalition in 1984 saw the government attempt to nationalise large amounts of industry and banks but institutional pressure from both Weranian businesses and the Euclean Community forced the government to embark on an "orthodox path" of fiscal restraint. The left-wing coalition was successful in however breaking up the großkombinats through changes in the competition law splitting their assets between nationalised portfolios, mittelstands and newly formed worker and consumer cooperatives. This completed Werania's shift from a corporatist to social market economy.

In the 1990's as deindustrialisation led to a decline of traditional factory based industries the Weranian government substantially deregulated as well as put new investments into the technology sector with the intention of replacing Werania as a manufacturing nation to one based on technology and research. Werania has since alongside Senria been recognised as a key player in the global technology sector acquiring the nickname of the "land of laptops and lederhosen". The multinational technology company Ihweb was founded and continues to be based in Westbrücken.

The succeeding conservative administration that came to power in 1999 spearheaded a programme of economic liberalisation including privatisation and deregulation in line with Euclean commitments. A housing bubble emerged due to reductions in capital gains tax which played a significant role in the development of the 2005 Euclean financial crisis. Whilst Werania wasn't the hardest hit of Euclean economies thanks to its strong social protections it did see a large rise in unemployment which reached 15% at its height. Although this was subsequently reduced it was done so through a proliferation of low-paid labour which had resulted in stagnant incomes since the mid-2000's. Werania now is considered to have a declining industrial sector whilst being a centre for finance and technology companies.

Agriculture

An organic cattle ranch in Upper Cislania.

Agriculture is a small part of the Weranian economy, with only 3.6% of the workforce employed in agricultural production and comprising only 2.4% of the national GDP. Nevertheless Weranian agriculture is considered to be very productive, with Werania being the third largest agricultural producer in the Euclean Community after Gaullica and Amathia. Werania meets over 80% of it's nutritional needs with domestic production and is one of the world's highest agricultural exporters. Werania's agricultural sector is highly mechanised as rural-to-urban migration has decreased the agricultural workforce. Mechanisation has meant that despite the total agricultural workforce declining agricultural output has increased as it has become more efficient and competitive.

The flat land of Bonnlitz and Wolfsfled mainly produces cereals such as maize, rye, barley and wheat alongside sugar beets and potatoes. Similar products are also produced, particularly potatoes and rye. In the more hilly and mountainous terrain of southern Cislania vegetables and livestock products such as milk, pork and beef is produced. Hops for beer is grown predominantly in central Cislania whilst vineyards surrounding river valleys are seen in Wolfsfled. Fishing continues to be important to the island portion of Roetenberg. Werania is the largest producer of potatoes and rye in the Euclean Community. Werania is most known abroad for it's beer and meats. Internationally Werania has faced significant competition to its agricultural products from Asterian and Coian nations with Weranian farmers' relying on agricultural protectionist policies from the Euclean Community.

Hop harvesting in Prizen.

Werania as of a 2018 agricultural survey is estimated to have around 1.5 million farms with almost all of them being private. Around 60% of the country's farmland held in properties of 200 or more hectares which account for just 2% of total farms in the country. These farms tend to be commercially owned. Smaller plots on the other hand tend on average to be family owned and under eight hectares with smaller smalls are particularly common in Ruttland. In recent years organic farming has been on the rise in Werania with 10% of all farms in Werania utilising organic farming.

The vast majority of farms are private although they are regulated by the three planning boards (the Grain Board, the Dairy Board, and the Livestock Board) that came under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries. The planning boards apply import restrictions, subsidies and production controls to ensure that Weranian farms remain financially viable although this often leads to consumers to pay higher prices or taxpayers to contribute to higher subsidies to maintain the system. Increasing integration into the Euclean Community has meant some deregulation has been implemented regarding the agricultural sector resulting in the planning boards to use less direct mechanisms to influence the agriculture sector although they maintain enormous influence within the sector.

Around a quarter of Werania's territory continues to be forested despite the country's generally high urbanisation rate. Nevertheless due to extensive anti-logging legislation much of these forested areas are protected from logging activity. Werania is a net importer of wood and wood products, producing only half of it's domestic consumption.

Banking and finance

The Wiesstadt stock exchange trading floor.

Werania has been a prominent centre of banking since the middle ages hosting the world's oldest continuous-operating merchant bank Armasberg Bank which was founded in 1586. Werania has a system of universial banking with retail, commercial and investment banks allowed to operate under one institution. Private customers generally have the option of choosing to use private, cooperative or public savings banks. Most private banks are operated as aktiengesellschaft whilst most public savings banks stem from public ownership of such banks through the bundesländer. Cooperative banks stem from rural credit unions that first emerged in the 1860's that have since been organised on regional and federal levels, often in active cooperation with industrial and rural cooperatives.

The largest banks in Werania include the privately owned Rentenbank, OBV (Ostischer Bankverein) and the credit union Agrarkreditbank who collectively constitute the "big three" main Weranian banks. The Gallo-Weranian bank Société générale-RLB (Roetenberger Landesbank) also plays a prominent role mainly in investment banking whilst the LKB (Lipliškės Kooperatinis Bankas) is an influential cooperative bank in Ruttland. Historically the Weranian Bank for Industrial Development (OBIE) operated as a prominent bank and later holdings company that underpinned large sections of the economy following the Great War before being broken up in the 1980's.

The Wiesstadt Börse (stock exchange) was founded in 1589 with Werania since having established itself as a prominent centre of financial services, albeit it's importance has decline due to the subsequent rise of Keisi in such services. Wiesstadt is a leading international centre for banking, insurance and foreign exchange trading as a result with Werania being one of the earliest countries to spearhead the financialisation of the global economy through banking reforms in the 1980's and 1990's that deregulated financial services.

Energy and natural resources

Historically Werania had large deposits of iron and coal, mainly located in the centre of the country around the Frankendorf-Innsheim-Ostdorf am Main megalopolis. The iron and coal deposits and steel manufactories in the 19th century in large part drove Weranian industrialisation with Werania historically being one the largest producers of steel in the world. Aluminium was also mined extensively in the country, mainly in the Ruttland region. Since the mid-20th century Werania is no longer self-sufficient in these resources becoming a net importer of steel, predominantly from Coian countries. This has led to a general decline of the mining sector from it's high point in the mid-20th century, although coal mining remains relevant particularly in Ruttland where coal reserves are still actively mined.

Wind turbines next to Lindstein Castle.

Werania is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Euclea with an energy consumption per capita of 34.82 MWh. The majority of Werania's energy comes from fossil fuels - in 2020 40.3% of Weranian energy came from oil, 22.4% from natural gas, 18.4% coal, 12.4% nuclear power and 6.5% {{w[|renewable energy}}, predominantly wind and hydro power. Werania imports the vast majority of oil mostly from Caldia, Geatland and Zorasan. The Tuaisceart-Süd pipeline between Caldia and Werania in particularly is remarked as a major source of Weranian petroleum imports. Most coal consumed in Werania as an energy source comes from Werania, although some is imported mainly from other Euclean countries. Coal production has become in recent years uncompetitive due to the increased cost of extraction and dwindling reserves but continues to receive large government subsidies. The government has pledged to eliminate coal production by 2030 in 2017, although progress on closing coal mines remains slow.

Environmental pressure in 1996 led to Werania to implement a moratorium on the building of new nuclear reactors. This was repealed in 2008 when the Weranian government approved of a deal between itself and the Gaullican energy conglomerate, Électricité de Gaullica, to build three new reactors in the country. The first of these was completed in 2018 but the other two are yet to undergo full regulatory approval by the Ministry of Energy and the Environment.

Renewable energy has increasingly become an important source of energy in Werania, going from 1.5% of all energy produced in Werania in 2010 to 6.5% in 2020, mainly from hydroelectric sources. Nevertheless the development of renewable energy in Werania has faced difficulties from a lack of government funding due to fossil fuel and nuclear lobbies redirecting funding towards non-renewable energy projects. Environmental activist group Aktion Jetzt alleges that Werania is one of the "slowest actors" in decarbonising it's energy sources in Euclea.

Industry

The headquarters of TMG in Westbrücken, Werania's flagship automobile brand.

Industry and construction employs 23.9% of the workforce in Werania but accounted to 28.5% of the gross domestic product in 2020. Werania's largest industries are pharmaceutical, arms, aerospace infrastructure and automotive industries. The biggest industrial producers in Werania are large conglomerates, although their share of industry has fallen in the past few decades due to the breakup of the großkombinat system which has seen nationalised industries, smaller businesses and worker cooperatives take up increasing shares in the national economy. Of note is the Weranian mittelstands, which tend to be small and medium sized enterprises that produce niche products whilst remaining predominantly family owned.

Werania is the site of several notable companies. These include the car companies TMG (Thalberg Motoren Gesellschaft) and Behnsen (both known for specialising in luxury cars), the arms companies Vogler GmbH, Kassal WF, Wagner and OWM, the pharmaceutical companies Rippenheim and Weicker Ostdorf and the aerospace company Meyer Aerospace AG (MAAG).

Werania is the third largest industrial producer in the Euclean Community after Gaullica and Estmere. Werania was the fifth-largest manufacturer in the world measured by value of output in 2018.

Science and Technology

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Engineer Albrecht von Steinhaeuser, microbiologist Edmund Schultze, psychoanalyst) Johannes Dreyfuss and nuclear physicist Kasper Ramberg are some of Werania's most notable scientific figures.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1800	24,840,113	—
1844	26,573,910	+7.0%
1864	30,673,530	+15.4%
1884	32,593,712	+6.3%
1904	35,557,208	+9.1%
1914	37,583,915	+5.7%
1924	40,567,284	+7.9%
1934	40,273,818	−0.7%
1944	41,483,926	+3.0%
1954	40,958,392	−1.3%
1964	44,583,322	+8.9%
1974	47,849,556	+7.3%
1984	50,684,025	+5.9%
1994	52,492,815	+3.6%
2004	54,674,823	+4.2%
2014	56,548,372	+3.4%
2020 (projected)	58,579,684	+3.6%
Source:Weranian Statistics Office

Werania has a total population of 58.5 million, the fifth largest in Euclea (after Gaullica, Soravia, Etruria and Ravnia) and the second largest in the Euclean Community (after Gaullica). It has a population density of 99.88 people per square kilometre, considered to be around average by Euclean standards. The majority of people live in the centre of the country around the Frankendorf-Innsheim-Ostdorf am Main region as well as the northeast of the country.

Werania has a fertility rate of 1.4 children born per woman, well to be below the replacement rate of 2.1 and being one of the lowest in the world. Werania's death rate having exceeded the birth rate since the early 1980's. Werania has an average age of 41.4 years, one of the higher numbers in the world. Since the mid-2000's increasing immigration has been attributed with raising the birth rate and lowering the average age, but concerns over demographic decline persist. Werania has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 81.1 years at birth amongst men and women.

Werania's population growth rate is 0.58% per annum, having remained between 0.5-0.6% for the last decade.

Education

Education in Werania is primarily managed by the individual bundesländer within guidelines issued by the federal government. Education is compulsory for all children in Werania from the ages of 6 to 18 or until one graduates high school. It is divided into four stages - preschool (kindergarten) for 4-6 year olds, primary school (grundschule) for 6-11 year olds, secondary school (mittelschule) for 11-18 year olds and university (universität) for those above the age of 18. Secondary schools organised on a selective systems, being divided into three categories of schools. Gymanisums are the most elite of the three being academically focused prep schools followed by realschule which focus on STEM subjects. Lastly there are the hauptschule which are comprehensive schools and unlike gymanisums and realschuclen are non-selective in their student intakes. Students graduate from secondary schools at the age of 18 after passing their abitur exams after which they can choose to enter universities, a higher vocational educational institution (known as a technicum), apply to study an apprenticeship or go into the workforce.

The University of Wiesstadt, the largest and oldest university in Werania.

The federal government requires all students to be compulsorily educated from the ages of 6 to 18. As a result most primary and secondary schools are free to attend although private schools exist that require fees to pay. It is up to the individual bundesländer as to whether they choose to provide free kindergarten or tertiary educational programmes. In 1986 the federal government passed legislation capping higher education tuition fees at 1,500ℳ (€1,360) that was raised to €2,500 in 2006. Three bundesländer - Westbrücken, Ruttland and Prizen - provide free higher education tuition for domestic students. Around 80% of Werania's universities are public institutions with the rest being privately owned. Werania is home to some of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities.

Historically most private schools were owned and operated by religious institutions as well as receiving state subsidies. In the 1980's state-owned religious schools were either privatised or converted into non-religious institutions whilst private religious schools saw state funding eliminated. Legislation passed in 2014 meant that the state can only finance religious schools if they secularise, an act which has been controversial as many of the highest performing schools in Werania are Catholic private schools. Homeschooling is illegal in cases aside from student health reasons or family travel although regulators are regarded to only to approve of homeschooling if the child is special needs and can have their work supervised by a nearby school. The ban on homeschooling was first implemented in the 1900's in order to reduce religious homeschooling and strengthen in the late 1980's.

Werania's selective schooling system has come under controversy both domestically and abroad with many criticising the gymnasium system in particular for entrenching class divides and failing to account for academic success beyond the age of 11. Supporters of the system however state it is more beneficial for students as they can ascertain whether they are more suited for academic or vocational work for the future. In 2016 the federal government passed legislation allowing students to take additional exams at the age of 15 regarding places at gymnasiums, with students from lower schools being able to advance if they perform well and those from gymnasiums losing their place if they perform poorly or fail, basing the law off similar legislation passed in Ruttland and Westbrücken. A 2020 federal court case upheld the new law after it attracted criticisms from parent groups.

Ethnic groups

Weranian censuses have always included censuses within them to track ethnic identity in the country. This was done following the unification of the country to track the dominance of Weranian identity within the country, with successive Weranian governments having promoted a Weranicisation programme that sought to promote the Weranian ethnic group above others. Since the mid-1980's Werania has shifted however to a more multicultural approach.

The majority of Weranian people are of Weranic descent. It is estimated that 70.72% of official residents of Werania (41,427,552 people) are Weranian. This also includes Weranian immigrants from Alsland and Borland, both of which countries have large Weranian populations who often study and work in Werania itself. Regions reflect the diverse heritage of Weranians including Brückeners, Cislanians, Blattenbergers, Bonnlitzers and Roetenbergers. The Weranic Aldman population is generally not counted as Weranian, although some self-identify as such. Witterites are classed as Weranians by federal authorities.

Around 12.48% of the population are ethnically Ruttish (7,310,492 people), who speak a Ruttic-Perovo language. The Ruttish population is mostly located in Ruttland, although there are communities who live across the border in Kirenia. The Ruttish have traditionally been the largest minority in Werania. Both Weranian and Ruttish people are considered to be white. Werania is overall considered to be around 86.9% white (50,905,745 people) which also includes 3.7% of the population (2,167,448 people) that identify as white that are neither Weranian or Ruttish. These people tend to be migrants from other parts of Euclea mainly consisting of Vespasians, Estmerish, Azmarans and Scovernes. The share of the white population has been declining in Werania, being previously measured to be 91.5% white in 2004.

5.2% of the population are black (3,046,143 people). The majority of them are of Banu descent, having emigrated predominantly from former Weranian colonies in Bahia, most prominently Maucha and Yemet. A large portion are now second or third generation immigrants. Rahelians make the next largest portion at 3.5% (2,050,288 people) followed by 2.4% Southeast Coians (1,464,492 people). Both are predominantly from former Weranian colonies such as Nainan, Kuthina and Siamat. There are a final 1.9% of the population (1,113,013 people) who are from other groups, including the Charlotte Islanders. This group consists of a mix of mostly more recent immigrants to Werania including Senrians, Shangeans, Satrians and native Asterians.

Healthcare

The Royal Kolreuth Hospital, the largest in the country

Werania, alongside the majority of the developed countries, maintains a two-tier system of universal healthcare, divided between a statutory health insurance system centred around the Health Assistance Programme (Program zur Gesundheitshilfe; PzGH) and a private sector. There also a large alternative medicine sector controversially subject to lax regulation.

The PzGH was created in 1986 by merging and restructuring health coverage schemes across Weranic states. Prior to 1986 healthcare coverage was at the discretion of state governments albeit an ordinance from 1957 committed state governments to providing some form of universally-available healthcare. The PzGH works as a single-payer compulsory social insurance plan. Citizens can opt to be covered by the PzGH's insurance plans with the use of a PzGH card which entitles them to access to PzGH services, meaning those who do not possess PzGH cards cannot use PzGH services. The PzGH is financed through a tax on 2% of a resident taxpayer's taxable income although has to be supplemented with out-of-pocket payments and direct government funding. Provision of healthcare however depends on state governments - the Ruttish government for example owns and employs much of the hospital staff in the state whilst in Cislania most hospitals are privately owned with the government contracting their services for patients covered under the PzGH. Unless signed onto a private insurance scheme coverage by the PzGH is compulsory for Weranian citizens. The PzGH only does partial coverage of dental and optic treatment, not covering cosmetic services.

A smaller private sector within the healthcare industry exists for those who wish to pay for private services. Private health providers are also arranged around insurance schemes, which pay for healthcare providers either within state-owned facilities or private hospitals. In 2002 the government attempted to boost the private medical sector by introducing levy that’s charged on top of taxpayer premiums every year after the age of 30 if they do not have private insurance, with the levy capping at a maximum of 75% and is removed once one has held hospital cover for a period of 10 continuous years.

The alternative medicine industry in Werania is considered to be controversial due to relatively lax regulation. In 1921 the government passed laws consolidating the role of heilpraktiker's which gave way to a large naturopathic industry with homeopathy being a particularly important component. Alternative clinics often mix legitimate medicinal practice with alternative methods and have been known to offer an unproven but legitimate experimental drugs in their treatment. Many of these clinics have been accused of offering patients expensive but ineffective treatment for conditions such as cancer leading to some of accuse them of health fraud with some states restricting the registration and operation of heilpraktikers.

Life expectancy in Werania is high, with women on average living for 83.8 years and men 78.4, ranking overall at around 81.1. Cancer, alcoholism and obesity are considered the mot pressing issues in relations to Weranian health, with the government heavily advocating weight loss camps. Since the mid-1980's, smoking has been on the decline in Werania.

Migration

It is estimated that 7,263,880 (12.4%) of the Weranian population is foreign-born with 3,807,679 (6.5%) born from outside the Euclean Community and 3,456,201 (5.9%) from EC countries. It's estimated that overall 13,297,588 people and their descendants (22.7%) in Werania are of foreign background.

Emigration tended to be higher historically in Werania, particularly from rural Wolfsfled, Roetenberg and Ruttland during the 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period the Weranian government implemented incentives for emigres to migrate to colonies within the Weranian Empire, particularly Silberküste, with these settler groups known as the dietsmen. Large groups also emigrated to Asteria Superior and Inferior, with notably large communities emerging in Aucuria, Satucin and Nuvania. There were however émigrés from other parts of Euclea, particularly the west, who often moved to Werania due to its more liberal political atmosphere. Most prominent amongst these included the Vedmedi's who carved an outsized influence on Weranian cultural life.

Following the Great War to prevent large scale rural to urban migration the government instead gave further incentives to farmers' to emigrate to the colonies, with over 600,000 doing so from 1935 to 1945. Economic revival in the mid-1940's coupled with violence in the colonies led to immigration to slowly outstrip emigration. The independence of Weranian colonies led to a large exodus of dietsmen as well as a wave of former colonial subjects to emigrate primarily from south Bahia to Werania. In 1957 to deal with labour shortages the Weranian government approved of a guest worker agreement with Etruria, the first of several between Werania and other nations, primarily from south Euclea and Rahelia. Immigration reform in 1994 led to the government to adopt a far more supportive view of further immigration to Werania primarily to prevent Werania's population decline.

According to the Weranian Federal Statistics Office the ten largest groups of foreign-born persons in 2020 were from:

1. Yemet
2. Maucha
3. Alsland
4. Nainan
5. Kuthina
6. Borland (Kylaris)
7. Template:Country data Estmere
8. Etruria
9. Senria
10. Gaullica

Religion

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  The St John's Gospelite Church in Weissenhof, one of the oldest in Werania.

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  The Westbrücken Cathedral, one of the most important in the country.

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  Cathedral of the Good Mother in Ostdorf, the largest Gothic church in north Euclea.

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  Lipliškės Cathedral.

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  The Kasperite Church in Kottenwice.

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  An Art Nouveau Witterite church in Bohenme.

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  An Irfanic mazar in Malstadt.

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  A modernist Atudist temple in Wiesstadt.

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  A Zohist shrine in Frankendorf.

Religious composition of Werania

  Solarian Catholic (51.3%)

  Gospelite (8.4%)

  Kasperite (4.2%)

  Witterite (1.2%)

  Other Amendist (2.4%)

  Episemialist (1.2%)

  Other Sotirian (1.5%)

  Irreligious (20.8%)

  Irfanic (4.6%)

  Badist (1.2%)

  Zohist (0.8%)

  Atudaists (0.5%)

  Other (1.9%)

Werania has since it's unification in 1842 been a constitutionally secular state with freedom of religion having been guaranteed since the Weranian Revolution in 1781. The largest religion in Werania is Sotirianity with 70.2% of the population identifying themselves as such with the largest single denomination being Solarian Catholic at 51.3%. Werania's Amendist population is smaller at 16.2% and is divided into various sects (such as Gospelism, Kasperism and Witterism). Other Sotirian's include a small population of Episemialists and various smaller groups predominantly from occidental churches. Since immigration from non-Euclean countries increased in the 1960's there has been increasing numbers of adherents to non-Sotirian faiths. The most numerous of these are Irfanics who constitute 4.6% of the population, followed by Badists at 1.2%, Zohists at 0.8% and Atudites at 0.5%.

Traditionally Catholic and Amendist divisions played a large role in Weranian history, with Werania after Estmere being one of the centres of the reformation. The 1480's saw the powerful Gospelite movement sweep through Werania, particularly gaining a foothold in Bonnlitz, Wolfsfled and northern Cislania. This helped lead to the Amendist Wars which saw the eventual signing of the Peace of Frankendorf which established the precedent of religious tolerance in the Weranian states. This was revoked by Leopold III in 1781 with his imposition of the dragonaden policy that aimed to eliminate Amendism in Werania, a factor that led to the Weranian revolution which enforced religious tolerance. The Weranian Republic attempted to eliminate religion instead supporting the Cult of Rationalism that aimed to promote a humanist rationalism over religious dogma. The fall of the republic saw Catholicism and Amendism adopted as state religions in the successor states aside Cislania, which had a separation of church and state. This separation was enforced nationally following Weranian Unification - however after the failed Easter revolution in 1856 the state in Werania concluded a de facto alliance between the clergy and crown that continued into the 20th century. Despite this the state continued to give full religious rights to religious minorities calming the traditional often violent divides between Amendists and Catholics.

The early 1900's saw secular influence attempt to fully separate church and state. This emerged in two important pieces of legislation. Radicals passed the 1911 Secularisation Law which formally made civil marriages become the only legal one, introduce divorce and removed chaplains from the army. The more radical legislation was passed in 1920 by socialists who restricted state funding for churches and other religious institutions whilst nationalising church property. These measures were bitterly opposed by religious organisations and were partially repealed throughout the 1930's-1960's, although the fundamentals of the 1911 and 1920 laws remained in place.

Since the 1970's however there was an increasing secularisation of public life as the importance of religion declined. During the 1980's the Weranian government set out to eliminate religious schools either secularising or privatising such institutions whilst removing all state funding towards them. Since then secularisation has been controversial in Werania; some have defended Werania's secular laws as being respectful of the notion of freedom of religion and separation of church and state whilst others have contended that Werania should respect it's heritage as a Sotirian nation. There has also been moves to weaken secular laws to better integrate other religious communities, particularly Irfanics, Atudites and Zohists.

Irreligion has been on the rise in Werania, with 20.8% of the population identifying as atheist or agnostic. This number is highest in urban areas such as Westbrücken, with rural areas remaining predominantly religious. In addition most Sotirians in Werania are non-practicing although many have noted that it tends to be slightly higher for Catholics then Amendists outside Kasperites.Northern Werania tends to be majority Amendist whilst southern Werania is majority Catholic. In addition Ruttland is strongly Catholic and tends to have the highest church attendance of all the states in the country followed by Wolfsfled.

Culture

Werania has long been noted as a centre of culture in northern Euclea for centuries with Weranian cultural influence being noted to be amongst the most extensive in the northern world. Weranians have played a large role in the development of cinema, fashion, cuisine, literature, technology, the social sciences, and mathematics,. Traditions such as weihnachten and herbstfest in particular remain internationally associated with Werania. Weranian culture is noted generally for it's perception of being rationalist and hardworking whilst also possessing traits of romanticism, egalitarianism and informality.

Architecture

Gothic architecture

Baroque architecture

Neoclassical architecture

Neo-Solarian

Jugendstil

Neo-futurism

Cuisine

Top row: Wiessen schnitzel and Roetenberger bratwurst sausages with sauerkraut
Bottom row: Spätzle with fried beef and onions and a šakotis spit cake.

Weranian cuisine has been shaped by its position in northeast Euclea, sharing similarity with Kirenia and Estmere. Werania's climate means that the country exhibits strong regional divergences in its cuisine; notably Cislania's warmer climate enables it to grow a much wider variety of foodstuffs and keep larger herds of livestock.

Since the 1950's mass production of meat has led to meat consumption in the country to dramatically increase, with pork, poultry and beef being the most consumed meats in that order. Some of the main foodstuffs grown in Werania include barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms. Horseradish and mustard are popular condiments in Werania, whose food as a general rule tends not to use many spices. Sauerkraut is a well-known ingredient in Weranian cuisine.

The main regional cuisines in Werania are Cislanian (including Wiesstadan), Brücken, Blattenberger, Bonnlitzer and Ruttish cuisine. All the Weranian regional cuisines tend to have continuity between them in the heavy use of rye, potatoes and pork and veal as part of many dishes.

Werania is home to some famous dishes. The most famous is schnitzel which is meat (usually veal) butterflied and covered in breadcrumbs; it is alleged to have been taken from a similar Vespasian dish but no conclusive link has been proven. Sausages tend to be a staple food in Werania; the main kind are bratwurst which are made from pork or veal and seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, coriander, or caraway. Spätzle is considered to have been a traditional working-class dish being a form of pasta cooked with eggs. Didžkukuliai dumplings made from potatoes and filled with either cheese, ground meat or mushrooms and šakotis spit cake are considered to be the most famous Ruttish dishes.

A waitress at a volksfest wearing a dirndl and serving maß of beer.

During the 19th century both Weranian and Ruttish cuisine was heavily inspired by Gaullican haute cuisine which has led to many dishes to change to fit such tastes over time. Nevertheless Weranian cuisine was less affected by foreign influences until the post-war period when immigration from southern Euclea, Asteria and Coius led to a surge of new cuisines to take root in Werania. Vespasian food became the first widely available non-north Euclea food in Werania; Kuthinian and Senrian cuisine were some of the earliest non-Euclean cuisine to become popular in Werania in the 1960's which would be later followed by Shangean, Mauchan and Tsabaran food.

Werania is well known for its beer industry (considered to be one of the oldest in Euclea) with the highest beer consumption in the world (131.4 litres per year by consumption per capita in 2019). Beer is often made according to the "purity code" that stipulates that only water, hops, and malt can be used as ingredients and that beers not exclusively using barley-malt such as wheat beer must be top-fermented. Although the purity code is not official law it is widely adhered to in Werania. Weißbier and Märzen are considered to be the traditional beers of Werania whilst Schafner is the most popular beer accounting for half of total beer sales. Werania has the most beer breweries in the world. Beer culture in Werania is tied to volksfests which combines a beer festival with a traveling carnival, beer halls and beer gardens. Ruttland also shares the rest of Werania's high beer consumption, but has a more farmhouse brewing tradition and does not share the same cultural acitivties and venues for drinking.

Weranian wines that are mass produced are mostly dry white wines, with sweeter ones often being counted amongst some of the most high-quality in northern Euclea but having far smaller production. Midus is a Ruttish-produced mead popular in the province.

Film

The expressionist film Phantomstadt released in 1926.

Music

Hans Jeremias Liebehenschel and Wilhelm Halberstam (top row) were influential baroque Weranian musicians whilst Phillipp Günzburg and Otto Strauss (bottom row) led the transition to classical music.

Werania is known for its history as a centre of renowned musicians from composers, singers, bands and producers since the 14th century. Werania's musical history has roots in the medieval period when Solarian choral singing fell out of favour to Weranian-language poetry sung by bards known as minnesang which substituted Solarian religious themes with more earthly subjects. Minnesangers were at first upper class but became more middle class over time and primarily sang in Weranian particularly after the creation of the printing press. The Amendist reformation saw chorales with four-part harmonisations gradually replace the existing orthodox musical structures. Weranian folk music also crystallised in this period as yodeling first became popular, although it remained an overwhelmingly peasant form of music disparaged by the cultural elite.

Wiesstadt in particular has been known as the haunt of several classical composers particularly during the baroque and classical periods. The most famous of these include Hans Jeremias Liebehenschel and Wilhelm Halberstam from the baroque period and the Neubert brothers and their pupils Phillipp Günzburg and Otto Strauss from the classical period. Weranian baroque music principally took influence from the Estmerish school as well as from Kirenian composers. Günzburg and Strauss were notable in mixing Weranian and Vespasian music principally from Giorgio Alberto Agiro, whose Vespasian overture had already been notably appropriated and used by Halberstam. The music of the Neubert brothers going through to Günzburg and Strauss is often named the Wiesstadt school and is considered to be one of the more influential within classical music.

It was Strauss alongside composer Sebastian Münchberg that oversaw the transition from the classical to the romantic era in north Euclean music particularly through the use of lieder, poetry set to classical music that constituted a continuation of the minnesang tradition. It was during the romantic period that Weranian opera - which had already started gaining popularity following Günzburg's The Occidental Flute - reached it's zenith most prominently with Friedrich von Rossier's Liebesverzicht which doubled as the national epic of Werania.

The turn of the century saw a move to the modernist Westbrücken school with it's experimental use of atonal music becoming more prominent for the first time over the traditionalist Wiesstadt school. The most prominent figure of this shift was Albert Luxenberg who pioneered expressionist music. This was in line with a general shift in the cultural life of Werania converging on Westbrücken which had become the centre of a avant-garde artistic movements in Werania. Although classical compositions had a brief revival in the immediate aftermath of the Great War avant-garde compositions have become the norm in Weranian composing.

The 19th century and the rise of romanticism was accompanied with the shift from predominantly court to popular music. For the upper classes of the unified Weranian state Wiesstadt continued to be the centre of musical innovation with the Wiesstadten waltz becoming particularly popular when combined with new light music such as Rivers Justa and Bach. For lower classes the regional volksmusik underwent codification and a revival. There was also an uptick in nationalist songs starting with the Weranian revolution and continuing to be popular through to unification including Was ist des Ostischen Vaterland?, der schwur erschallt (the republican anthem) and Bis in den Tod die Fehde.

Iris Drache is a popular Weranian electropop singer.

Starting in the 1890's but becoming more popular in the early years of the 20th century saw the development of the kabarett, based on the Gaullican model but often with stronger satirical themes. The embrace of avant-garde art styles in Westbrücken in particular led to jazz to emerge albeit slowly at first; it was only with the rise to power of the functionalists in Gaullica and the exile of several left-wing artists and musicians to Werania did jazz begin to increase in popularity. The role Gaullican émigrés played in the early development of Weranian jazz meant the style imitated Gaullican and Satucine styles until the 1940's when it began to take on a more distinctive tone, primarily around the cool jazz phenomenon rather then the Gatôn bebop movement.

The postwar period in Werania saw a large amount of Estmerish-language music make inroads in Werania alongside later Gaullican compositions whilst easy-listening ballards known as schlager became very popular around Werania and Euclea as a whole. Schlager declined in popularity as two new musical phenomenon's swept through Werania in the late 1960's - the minimalist liedermachers who took inspiration from Gaullican chansons and rock music who mostly took their cues from Estmerish bands. In the 1970's Weranian rock was considered at the forefront of the punk scene but by the early 1980's had morphed into the new wave synth led by popular artists Else and Der Kommissar. This new wave movement however fell by the wayside due to a resurgence in schlager music which had already begun making inroads into the mainstream again in the late disco era such as with the 1980 hit Lyria.

Synth-pop and Euclodance became more popular in the late 1980's and early 1990's emerging concurrently with a thriving heavy metal scene, a trend that continued into the early 2000's. However these genres became less popular in the early 2010's as electronic music - which had long been influential on the underground music scene in Werania - became mainstream, with the mid-to-late 2010's also seeing the proliferation of electro-pop. Hip hop has been on the rise in Werania since the late-1980's but has struggled to become mainstream outside a brief period during the mid-2000's when the Rahelian-descended rap duo Neuebozz attained popularity on the Weranian charts.

Public holidays

Public holidays in Werania are decided on the basis of each individual bundesländer. The only holidays the federal government have legislated is labour day having done so in 1919. However New Years and other important days of the Sotirian liturgical year (such as Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost and Nativity) are practiced in every bundesländer.

Date	Name	Weranian Name
1 January	New Year's Day	Neujahrstag
6 January	Epiphany	Heilige Drei Könige
8 March	Women's Day	Frauentag
17 March	Unification Day	Einigungsfeier
floating holiday (Easter Sunday -2)	Good Friday	Karfreitag
floating holiday (Easter Sunday +2)	Easter Monday	Ostermontag
1 May	Labour Day	Tag der Arbeit
floating holiday (Easter Sunday +39)	Ascension Day	Sotirian Himmelfahrt
floating holiday (Easter Sunday +50)	Whit Monday	Pfingstmontag
floating holiday (Easter Sunday +60)	Feast of Corpus	Fronleichnam
15 June	Victory Day	Siegestag
15 August	Assumption Day	Mariä Himmelfahrt
31 October	Reformation Day	Reformationstag
1 November	All Saints' Day	Allerheiligen
8 December	Immaculate Conception Day	Mariä Empfängnis
24 December	Nativity's Eve	Heiligabend
25 December	Nativity	Weihnachtstag
26 December	Boxing Day	Zweiter Weihnachtsfeiertag
31 December	New Years Eve	Silvester
Total number of holidays per state			17	15	15	17	16	15	16	16	17	17	17	15