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Government & Politics

Main article: Parliament of Satavia

Satavia is a Federal Parliamentary Republic. For over one hundred years the country was a stable democracy until a coup lead by members of the Military in 1939 lead to the creation of a quasi-dictatorship, which lasted until 1976. Satavia is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal government and provincial and territorial governments.

Satavia has a partly codified constitution, where the Satavia Act has, since 1816, been replaced and superseded with a new Satavia Act. For example, the Satavia Act, 1994 clarified the position and powers of Provincial and Territorial governments within the structure of the Federal Government. Powers are separated in the federal government between the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The President of Satavia is the head of state and is represented at a provincial level by provincial governors. It is not uncommon for former presidents to be appointed governors, and for former governors to win their party's presidential nomination. The President plays a purely ceremonial role and is appointed by the Senate. The President is elected by the party with the most seats in the Senate. Situations thus have existed where the Prime Minister and President are of a different party, which has most recently lead in 2005 to a second election being held, which resolved the parliamentary deadlock.

The Prime Minister of Satavia is head of government as well as head of the executive. The Prime Minister and his or her ministers are appointed by the President on advice from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister sits in the House of Representatives and answers to both the Parliament of Satavia and the President. The position of Prime Minister has been continually held for over two hundred years.

The Parliament of Satavia is Satavia's federal bicameral legislative body and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Satavia largely follows and modified the method of the Northabbey model. Both houses are democratically elected, in elections that occur simultaneously, every four years. A Prime Minister may, however, call an election early in which case both houses are dissolved and a snap election is held.

The House of Representatives is made up of 149 representatives elected from single-member electoral divisions (sometimes known as constituencies or seats) using the first-past-the-post system. Divisions are based upon population, and are drawn up by the Independent Electoral Commission of Satavia (IECS), but are regarded by some to be unfair based on the current allocation of population per division, which varies widely. Neither of the two territories sends representatives to the House of Representatives, but instead send an advisor appointed by their respective territorial parliaments.

The Senate is made up of 80 representatives (12 from each province, and four from the two territories) elected through the party-list proportional representation system, whilst seats are allocated through the D'Hondt method. The Senate plays a purely advisory role, and may not amend or throw out legislation, only return it to the House of Representatives to be amended.

Two main political groups normally form a government, both on a provincial and federal level: the Conservative & Country Party and the Liberal Party. The Conservative & Country Party was formed from a merger of multiple small political parties on the right to the centre-right of the political spectrum, whilst the Liberal Party is regarded as centre-left. Other parties gain political representation, but rarely form a government (some have in the past been members of coalition government). The centrist United Party and the left-wing Labour & Social Democratic Party are sometimes regarded as a "third party".

Administrative Divisions

Satavia is a federation, and has three tiers of local governance: Provinces, which act as semi-autonomous sub-national administrative units, each with an elected legislature and premier, and Territorial authorities, which deal with local governance.

Provinces

Main article: Provinces and Territories of Satavia

Satavia is made up of six provinces, in addition to two territories. Provinces and Territories have the same legislative powers outlined in the Constitution of Satavia, whilst historically the main key difference being that territories did not send members to the House of Representatives (they did, however, send members to the Senate) and that they were constitutionally subordinate to the federal government. Following the passage of the Satavia Act, 2022, drafted in the run-up to the 2022 Satavian general election, territories were afforded the same constitutional status as Provinces.

Each province has an elected premier and legislature, and an appointed Governor, who fulfils the role of executive. A provincial legislature has wide-ranging powers in passing legislation, on the condition that it does not undermine existing legislation passed by the federal Parliament. Elections to provincial legislatures are held in tandem with federal elections. Voting methods vary from province to province, but a majority uses the first-past-the-post system, much like in federal elections. Each province also has a separate judicial system, whilst the High Court of Satavia serves as the final court of appeals and retains the power to override a provincial ruling.

Provinces retain full control over certain sectors of governance, including the emergency services, housing and infrastructure. The federal government retains the power to override provincial legislation, either through acts of parliament that supersede them, or unilaterally. A unilateral revocation can be appealed by a province to the High Court of Satavia. No government has ever revoked a piece of provincial legislation unilaterally.

Map	Name	Arms	Capital	Population	Governor	Premier	Type
Western Freestate Central Territory Hope Province Pioneerstaat NCD New Borland Orange Province Gaulegrond	Central Territory		Hondeburg	204,198	Luan Cronie	Kian Thomas	Territory
	Gaulegrond Freestate		Henschhoek	2,522,192	Bash De Kok	André Venter	Province
	Hope Province		Burnaby	6,694,196	Johan de Vilock	Dawid de Klerk	Province
	National Capital District		Port Hope	2,421,671	Christopher Marshall	Office vacant	Territory
	New Borland		Talbot	403,156	Ruben De Toit	Eliza Smuts	Province
	Orange Province		Northport	3,102,850	Daniël Vermack	Piet Van Der Westhuizen	Province
	Pioneerstaat Province		Bloemstad	2,701,421	Edward Matthys	Andries De Bruyn	Province
	Western Freestate		Port Arthur	6,503,294	Christiaan de Beer	Theo Goodwin	Province

Territorial authorities

Main article: Territorial authorities of Satavia

Within each province, there are territorial authorities, which deal with local governance. There are 42 territorial authorities, of which one is a unitary authority, the National Capital District, which is both a territory and a territorial authority.

Territorial authorities act as the lowest tier of local government, and powers granted to them are decided by the Provincial Government. The federal government, except for the National Capital District, has no direct power in deciding the responsibilities of a territorial authority. The boundaries of territorial authorities are decided by a province's respective boundary commission.

Military

Main article: Satavian Armed Forces

The Satavian Armed Forces comprise of the Satavian Army, the Satavian Naval Service and the Satavian Air Force. In recent years, the combined Armed Forces budget has been slashed by nearly 40%, following decades of unnecessary expenditure, much of it by the Satavian Dictatorship that was in power until 1976.

SNV Johan van Vallier under way

All citizens (except for university students and those employed in certain areas of the public sector) aged 18-22 are eligible to take part in two years of national service, however, many opt not to serve their national service time in the Armed Forces.

During the Satavian Crisis, the previously poorly-trained Armed Forces were given professional training by Hallandic Advisors, and Satavia retains close military ties with Halland, Satavia being an associate member of the NVO.

Satavia's Army consists of nearly TBD men and women, whilst Satavia's Navy maintains a fleet of 17 ships, including a single LPH, which was purchased from Halland in 1999, in addition to a Dock Landing Ship, also purchased from Halland. The Satavian Airforce consists of TBD planes.

Foreign Affairs & International Standing

Satavia retains very close relations with her neighbour Nuvania, due to historical ties (both were Hennish and later Estmerish Colonies), and Satavia remains the only country Nuvania has a free travel agreement, and both were present at the signing of the Kingsleigh Treaty, along with Satucin, that eventually lead to the creation of the Asteria Inferior Common Market. Satavia's relations with Nuvania have rarely been strained, other than the Great War, where Satavia, at that point still a Dominion of Estmere, briefly fought, and then surrendered to Nuvanian Forces.

Satavian Embassy, Montecara

Satavia also retains close relations with other countries in the Asterias, most notably Halland, whose cultural and political impact during their four-year deployment during the Satavian Crisis later lead to closer ties with Halland, and Associate Member status in the NVO.

Further abroad, Satavia maintains close relationships with Estmere, often called "The Mother Country" colloquially. Estmerish remains Satavia's most used language and one of two official languages in the country. Satavia also maintains good relations with other countries in Euclea, such as Caldia and Gaullica.

The Patrick Islands, officially Naua Roa, are, according to the Satavian Government, an independent country in free association with Satavia - however, the CN and the majority of CN member states maintain that the islands are non-self-governing and are involuntarily an associated state of Satavia.

Satavia is a member of the Community of Nations, ASTCOM, International Council for Democracy, the Organization of Asterian Nations and the Estmerish Council, in addition to being an associate member of the NVO.

Demographics

The 2018 Satavian Census listed the Satavian population as 21,537,500, giving Satavia a population density of 32.5/km2. Satavia is a predominantly urban country, with much of the interior being sparsely populated, due to its thick jungle and inhospitable environment.

The average life expectancy from birth in Satavia was 76.5 years of age, giving Satavia the highest life expectancy in Asteria Inferior. This is attributed mainly due to a lack of pollution, good access to healthcare and a relatively low crime rate. Satavia's fertility rate is 1.97 and has been decreasing steadily since the 1980s. In 2018 Satavia's median age was 33.9 years.

Ancestry and immigration

In the 2018 census, 60% of Satavian residents identified as ethnically Euclean, and 19% as ethnically Bahian. Other major ethnic groups include Natives (8%) and Mixed (7%). Satavia's population has become more ethnically diverse in the past thirty years. Ancestry is also tracked, and in the 2018 census the most nominated ancestries were (Ancestry choices were changed in the 2018 census, and removed the choices of "Asterian", "Nuvanian" and "Satavian"):

• Estmerish (28.2%)
• Hennish (24.9%)
• Rwizikuran (9.5%)
• Garamburan (8.5%)
• Gaullican (8.6%)
• Native (8.2%)
• Borish (7.4%)
• Caldish (5.0%)
• Piraean (3.0%)
• Weranian (2.1%)

At the 2018 census, 8.2% of Satavian residents identified as one or more native ethnic groups, which were collectively grouped as "Native" for statistical purposes. The most common ancestry was Estmerish, followed closely by Hennish.

Immigration to Satavia has occurred since the early 1600s, most notably a sizeable population of Gaullican Kasperists (Huguenots) and other immigrants from Caldia. Large populations arrived thanks to land incentives in the mid-late 19th century, leading to Satavia being a nation of net immigration for almost its entire history, except for a brief period of population decline from 1960-80 during the National Dictatorship, where many left the country for Euclea (in particular Hennehouwe and Estmere) and Nuvania.

Language

Major languages in Satavia
Language			Percent
Estmerish			53.9%
Asteriaans			30.6%
Hennish			8.3%
Gaullican			3.1%
Native languages			1%
Language spoken at home by percentage of speakers (2018 census)

Satavia has one official federal language: Estmerish, and two other official languages that are used in some provinces: Asteriaans and Hennish. Hennish is only an official language in the Hope Province and was the written standard in the National Capital District until 2009. Asteriaans, however, is an official language in every province and territory other than the Central Territory, where Estmerish remains the only official language.

In the 2018 census, the census asked responders to identify their first language. Over half said they spoke Estmerish (53.9%) as their first language, followed by Asteriaans (30.6%). The next largest language group was Hennish (8.3%) which shares mutual intelligibility with Asteriaans. In previous censuses, the two languages have been grouped as "Asteriaans/Hennish". The largest non-official language was Gaullican, at 3.1%.

The 2018 census did not track knowledge of a foreign language or the number of languages spoken for the first time since 1982. In the 2008 census, 86% of Satavians identified as speaking two languages fluently, with the most common combination being "Asteriaans/Estmerish", whilst 37% identified as speaking three languages fluently, with the most common combination being "Asteriaans/Estmerish/Hennish".

Religion

Religious identification in Satavia (2018)

  Kasperist (47.9%)

  Irreligious (29.7%)

  Solarian Catholicism (14.3%)

  Irfan (4.6%)

  Other (3.5%)

Satavia's state religion is Kasperism, although this is purely symbolic; the Religion Act, 1990 prohibits the federal government from prohibiting the free practice of other religions. In practice, church and state are separate, and the state does not endorse any particular Kasperist church, although the Reformed Hennish Church is by far the largest.

Religious adherence has declined massively in Satavia in the last 30 years; in the 1980 census, 83.6% of respondents said they followed Kasperism, a decline of nearly 1% per year in the period of 1980-2018. The largest single faith group is Sotirianity.

Education

Schooling in Satavia is mandatory for all children aged 6 to 16. Education is free in every province and territory except for the Western Freestate, where education was fully privatised in 2009. Satavia has an adult literacy rate of 98%. Education is the responsibility of each province or territory but is supervised by the Ministry of Education. Whilst education is free in all provinces (except for the Western Freestate), private schools also exist, and are regulated by the Ministry of Education directly.

University tuition is also publically funded, and there are 28 universities in Satavia (25 public and 3 private). Satavia's most famous University is University College Port Hope, which is one of the oldest universities in the Asterias, and a member of the Hope League, a collection of four prestigious universities (namely University of Warwicksburg, University College Port Hope, University of Bloemstad and University of Konningstad). Two are Asteriaans-language universities, whilst the other two are Estmerish-language universities. Before the abolition of the Estmerish monarchy, all four had Royal Charters.

A much higher percentage of those who claimed Euclean ancestry in the 2018 census answered as having taken further education than those who claimed Bahian or Native ancestry. A study conducted in 2020 showed that the Hope Leauge universities were more likely to admit a person of Euclean ancestry and race than a person of Bahian ancestry and race with the same grades.

The Times ranked Satavia's education system as the best in Asteria Inferior, and the 24th best globally.

Health

St Edward's Ambulance station in New Borland

Healthcare in Satavia is delivered through provincial health boards, and standards and pricing vary from province to province. Universal health care is only available in the National Capital District, whilst free healthcare for low-income citizens is available in the Gaulegrond Freestate, Pioneerstaat Province, Hope Province, New Borland and the Orange Province. In the Western Freestate, health care is entirely privatised. Several attempts to provide free healthcare for those living under the Satavian poverty line have been defeated in the Western Freestate provincial legislature.

Emergency healthcare is managed on a provincial level, and ambulance callouts are universally free in all provinces and territories after the introduction of the Preservation of Life Act 1983, which forbids charging a fee for emergency service callouts.

Life expectancy in Satavia is 76.5 years. The highest cause of premature death was cancer and the highest cause of preventable premature death was smoking.