Sahilban

Republic of Sahilban جمهورية سهيلبان (Sahilbanese) Jumhūriyat Sahilbaan ܩܕܝܫܐ ܕܣܗܝܠܒܥܢ (Syritsi) Qadīšā d'Sahilbaan Sahilbaan Cumhuriyeti (Tiryetsan)
Flag Emblem of the Republic
Anthem: Sahilban Shall Endure
Capital	Kuruda
Largest city	Buuderet
Official languages	Sahilbanese Syritsi Tiryetsan
Ethnic groups (2022)	60.2% Sahilban 15.5% Syritsi 10.8% Yawathan 5.3% Tiryetsan 5.0% Other Aravian 3.2% Other
Religion (2023)	58.0% Islam 16.1% Druze 9.4% Polytheist 4.0% Syritsi Christianity 12.5% Irreligious or Other
Demonym(s)	Sahilbanese Sahilban
Government	Federal semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship.
• President	Abd Al-Tikriti
• Prime Minister	Tazzit Shar'Ikta
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Assembly
Establishment
• Independence	4 July 1985
• Current Constitution	3 June 1986
• Free Kuruda Protests	March 2019
Area
• Total	257,712 km2 (99,503 sq mi)
Population
• 2023 estimate	56,123,293
• 2023 census	56,012,684
• Density	217.4/km2 (563.1/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	₭432.9 billion
• Per capita	₭7,729
Gini (2022)	32.3 medium
HDI (2022)	0.694 medium
Currency	Sahilbanese Yenaholi (¥) (SHY)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+969
Internet TLD	.sb

Sahilban, officially the Republic of Sahilban, is a country in northern Galia. It borders Balbaher to the east, Dejer to the north, Ashmala to the west, and Dumatina to the south. The city-state of Yenrazi lies along the northern coastline with the Achrinian Ocean. Its capital is the interior city of Kuruda, but the largest city in terms of population is either Kuruda or the coastal city of Buuderet, depending on if one measures by the metropolitan or urban populations. Sahilban covers an area of 257,712 square kilometers and has a population 56.1 million with a relatively high population density, due to the warm climate conducive to agriculture. The country is officially secular, with Muslims being the majority but with signifigant populations of Christians, Druze, and Polytheists. Most of the population are ethnic Sahilbans, but signifigant minorities of Syritsi, Yawathans, and Tiryetsans are present throughout the country. The majority language of the Sahilban and Yawathan populations is the Aravian language of Sahilbanese, while the Syritsi and Tiryetsans speak their own languages. While Sahilbanese is frequently promoted as a language of commerce, and is the language of operations for the armed forces, the most common langue véhiculaire is the Yawathan language, though it lacks official status in the country. In addition, small minorities of Balbahers and Ashmalans exist, though numbers are estimated to be much higher than the official statistic. Demographers regard the reported number of these two groups as a "serious undercount", as the index of inconsistency is high and many if not most ethnic Ashmalans or Balbahers have a tendency to identify simply as "Sahilbanese" or if of mixed ancestry, identify more with the Sahilbanese majority. This phenomenon is blamed on a lack of knowledge of ancestry, deliberate attempts to integrate, or the difficulties in drawing firm divisions among highly similar and related ethnic and linguistic groups.

The territory of what is now Sahilban has historically been inhabitated by nomadic groups and empires. In antiquity, various Sahilban empires inhabitated the land and fought for primacy in the region, and the Aravian Empire expanded to cover most of what is now Sahilban, Balbaher, and Ashmala. The Aravian Empire modernized much of Sahilban and overturned the native nomadic movements in favor of centralizing the polity and state underneath the imperial government. In the 18th century, Tiryetsan-speaking colonists from Gryva arrived and introduced the Islam and Druze faiths to the region. By the mid-19th century, the Tiryetsans nominally ruled all of Aravia as part of a puppet state headquartered in Yenrazi. Following the First Great War, the Tiryetsan colonies went independent and became aligned with the Yawatha. In 1938, in a questionable annexation, Aravia was annexed as the Aravian Autonomous Republic within the Yawathan National Republic. During the dissolution of Yawatha, Aravia split into three countries down the roughly linguistic groups.

Human rights organizations have described the Sahilban government as authoritarian, and regularly describe human rights in Sahilban as poor. The country is a major player in northern Galia, with the third highest GDP in north Galia and generating almost a third of the combined GDP of the Aravian countries. The primary exports of Sahilban are agricultural goods, with most of the country having long growing seasons and fertile soils, and lithium, with vast reserves in the southwest. While de jure it is a democratic, federal, constitutional republic, it is de facto an authoritarian regime with no free elections. Historically, there have been incremental efforts and democratization and political reform since the 2019 death of Kahlihd Aldubati, who ruled as Primate from independence until 2019. Sahilban is a member state of the Global Community and is officially an observer in the Galian Entente, though its observership has been suspended in light of revelations of Sahilbanese support of pro-MDP rebels in Dumatina against the Entente-backed government forces and support of the MDP-backed Dejeran government against Entente-backed rebels. In 2021, President Abd Al-Tikriti expressed support for Sahilban joining the MDP.