Noordenstaat

The Kingdom of Noordenstaat Koninkrijk van Noordenstaat
Flag Shield
Motto: Voor de Koningin, voor Noordenstaat (Dutch) "For Queen, For Noordenstaat"
Anthem: "God in de lucht, Koning op de grond"
Noordenstaat (dark green) in Lorecian Community (light green)
Capital and largest city	Koninstad
Official languages	Dutch
Recognised regional languages	Fyngarian
Demonym(s)	Noordenstater
Government	Unitary hereditary constitutional monarchy
• Queen	Anne Charlotte II
• Prime minister	Rudolf Schoorl
Legislature	Koninkrijke Vergadering
Establishment
• Independence from Nikolian Empire	1946
Area
• Total	1,149,700 km2 (443,900 sq mi)
Population
• 2016 estimate	127,224,534
• Density	110/km2 (284.9/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$5.31 trillion
• Per capita	$41,761
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$5.15 trillion
• Per capita	$40,512
Currency	Noordenstaatian Kroon Kr
Time zone	(UTC)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+153
ISO 3166 code	NDS
Internet TLD	.ns

Noordenstaat, officially the Kingdom of Noordenstaat (Dutch: Koninkrijk van Noordenstaat), is a sovereign state in Lorecia, in central Astyria. It shares land borders with the Aurora Confederacy and Fyngaria in the north, and Haguenau in the south and borders the Noordenstaat Sea to the west. The most significant cities are Koninstad, which is also the capital city, Schellerdam, the most populous city in the country, and Bruningen, seat of the Noordenstaat economy and industry. Noordenstaat is constitutional, parliamentary monarchy with unicameral legislature since its separation from the Nikolian Empire in 1946.

History

Great Astyrian War

Main article: Great Astyrian War

Geography

Noordenstaat is located on western coast of Lorecia between nations of Fyngaria and Haguenau. It lies between latitudes 43,47°N and 31.86°N and longitudes 9.72°E and 24.3°E. The total area of Noordenstaat is 1,149,700 km². Total border length is 7155 km (Thomaion xkm, Fyngaria xkm, void xkm and Haguenau xkm).

Noordenstaat is mostly flat with mountains dominating southeastern provinces Rode, Schwarzenberg and Weiland. Towards the central part of the country, provinces consist chiefly of hills traversed by the rivers. Most notable rivers are Woon, Drijk and Witstroom. The flatlands of Noordenstaat are mostly covered in grass fields, crop fields and forests of oak, beech and poplar. The agriculture is concentrated in a vast plain covering the provinces Vlaksland, Maartinenland, Zuidstroom and Hoofdstad.

The coast of Noordenstaat is nearly entirely discordant beach, with many marine terraces, bays and headlands. The cliffed coast is typical for the coasts of Braamenland and Noord Schiereiland provinces.

There are 18 islands larger than 5 square kilometers. The largest and the most populous island is Bergeiland.

Climate

Climate data for Koninstad, Noordenstaat
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	4.3 (39.7)	6.7 (44.1)	12.2 (54.0)	17.6 (63.7)	22.7 (72.9)	25.9 (78.6)	28.0 (82.4)	28.2 (82.8)	22.8 (73.0)	17.9 (64.2)	10.6 (51.1)	4.5 (40.1)	16.8 (62.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	1.4 (34.5)	3.1 (37.6)	7.6 (45.7)	12.9 (55.2)	18.1 (64.6)	21.0 (69.8)	23.0 (73.4)	22.7 (72.9)	18.0 (64.4)	12.9 (55.2)	7.1 (44.8)	2.7 (36.9)	12.5 (54.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−1.4 (29.5)	−0.6 (30.9)	2.7 (36.9)	7.6 (45.7)	11.8 (53.2)	15.1 (59.2)	17.4 (63.3)	17.5 (63.5)	12.3 (54.1)	8.5 (47.3)	4.0 (39.2)	−0.3 (31.5)	7.9 (46.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	46.9 (1.85)	40.0 (1.57)	49.3 (1.94)	56.1 (2.21)	58.0 (2.28)	101.2 (3.98)	63.0 (2.48)	58.3 (2.30)	55.3 (2.18)	50.2 (1.98)	55.1 (2.17)	57.4 (2.26)	690.9 (27.20)
Source: Royal Institute for Hydrometeorology of Noordenstaat

Politics

Noordenstaat is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy ruled by Queen Anne Charlotte II. The government of Noordenstaat is consisted of the Council of Ministers, as an executive body and the States-General, a bicameral legislative body of the government. The current Prime minister is Rudolf Schoorl.

Military

Main article: Armed Forces of Noordenstaat

Members of the Royal Noordenstaat Army during military practice

Noordenstaat has a medium size military divided in four branches:

• Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), Royal Noordenstaat Army.
• Koninklijke Marine (KM), Royal Noordenstaat Navy.
• Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), Royal Noordenstaat Air Force.
• Koninklijke Gendarmerie (KGen)

As of 2018 the Armed Forces of Noordenstaat consists of 266,700 personnel and 129,773 personnel in reserve. There is mandatory conscription for all males from the age of 18 that lasts for 6 months. Females can volunteer for military service but are not conscripted otherwise. After compulsory military service, the certain percentage of soldiers that showed excellence during their service are offered to become active soldiers, while others are considered available for military service.

The Armed Forces of Noordenstaat are part of the joint Lorecian Community defence force.

Economy

Noordenstaat is one of the leading economies of Lorecia. It is founding nation of the Lorecian Community and hosts its headquarters. Bruningen Beurs is one of the oldest stock exchange in the region and it has been one of the most important stock markets in Lorecia. Noordenstaat's economy is stable and sustained with only 23% of goods being imported, those being raw materials, not commonly found in Noordenstaat. Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Noordenstaat economy. As of 2010, key Noordenstaat's trade partners were members of the Lorecian Community, Nikolia, Haguenau and ViZion. Noordenstaat's currency is guilder and its exchange rate to USD is 7.5 guilder.

Industry

Manufacture form the largest industrial sector. Other major industries include foodstuffs, chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, and tourism. There are multiple foreign companies doing business in Noordenstaat, many of them having production lines, thanks to easier trade to nations from where raw materials come.

Agriculture

File:Wheat harvest Noordenstaat.jpg

Combine harvesters processing a wheat field in Noordenstaat

Agricultural sector is highly mechanised, and the main focus is international export. About 5% of labour force was employed in agricultural sector in 2013, and around 22% of exports are from agricultural sector. High agricultural production rate is thanks to highly fertile land and good climate. Besides grains, Noordenstaat also produces and exports fruits, mostly apples, apricots, pears and cherries. Other agricultural products include tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and onions.

Transport

W 1 motorway

Noordenstaat has well developed road infrastructure with 15 motorways with total length of 8,421km connecting all major cities in the country. Motorways have tolls imposed in a form of vignette (Snelwegvignet). Domestic vehicles gain Snelwegvignet through annual vehicle tax, while foreign vehicles may purchase a vignette sticker for various periods of time.

Energy

Woonekrun dam. One of the largest dams in the world

Energy production in Noordenstaat mainly comes from renewable sources. Noordenstaat is pioneer in renewable energy and since the beginning of 2016 it produced around 80% of its energy from renewable sources. The largest percentage of power generated came from hydro plants (65%). The second largest source of energy came from wind turbines (15%). The remaining 20% came from nuclear power plants, which Noordenstaat has 32. The largest power producers in Noordenstaat are NoordenPower, NETP and HydroNoord.

Demographics

In 2013 population census, Noordenstaat had 127,224,534 inhabitants. Majority were Noordeners (90%) while the remaining minority population included Fyngarians, Haguenauvians and Aurorans. The most populous city in the nation is Bruningen, with 8,234,765 citizens.

Population centres

The Noordenstaat's population is mostly grouped in coastal areas around major ports. Other major cities (together with the capital) are located inland, mainly on large rivers. Thanks to the geography of Noordenstaat, there are not many geographic obstacles for human settlements, hence the cities are almost evenly distributed.

Religion

Historically, Noordenstaat has been predominately Christian. Nowadays, the trend continued, and, since the 2016 population census, 75.3% of population was religious. Since the Protestant Reformation, Noordenstaater vastly switched to Protestantism, claiming a majority in Noordenstaat's religious population. 24.7% found themselves as irreligious, which is mostly benefited by liberal policies of the government. Other religious groups include Orthodox Christians (2%) and Roman Catholics (10%)

Religions in Noordenstaat (2016)

  Protestant (63.3%)

  No affiliation (24.7%)

  Roman Catholic (10%)

  Orthodox Christian (2%)

Religion in Noordenstaat is considered as personal choice and that it should not be propagated in public. Although the majority of the population is religious, the government, apart from the Royal Family, is secular. The Royal Family members are Protestants, and in order to become a monarch, a person must be of Protestant religion. The coronation and similar events still performed in religious ways, as per the old customs and traditions.

Although the government officially does not support any religion, many Christian religious holidays are as well national (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the Ascension of Jesus). There are as well several political parties that openly practice Christian traditions, such as NCP, PPN and KPN.

Education

Primary and secondary education in Noordenstaat is obligatory. While university level education is not obligatory, large percentage of students enroll in higher education in one of many universities of Noordenstaat. As of 2015, 83% of students continued their education after secondary education.

Compulsory education in Noordenstaat starts at the age of 7, and lasts for 12 years (8 years primary school, 4 years high school).