Vaiga
Republic of Vaiga Väiga Tasavalta (Veri) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of Arms
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| Motto: “Ruha ja Terveüz” "Peace and Tranquility" | |
| Anthem: Nouse, Verilain! Arise, Veri!  | |
 Location of Vaiga (green) | |
| Capital | Petäjärvi |
| Official languages | Veri |
| Ethnic groups (2018) | 92.3% Verilain 7.7% others |
| Demonym(s) | Vaigan |
| Government | Federal multi-party parlimentary directorial republic |
| Alina Häyhänen Raimo Hudilainen Anna Hyvönen Aleksandr Särkijärvi Kristiina Karjalainen Maryam Farahani Nyyrikki Järvenpää | |
• Chairman | Marju Randjärv |
| Legislature | Kahtšümettäkoto |
| Independence | |
• from ??? | June 14, 19XX |
| Area | |
• Total | 000 km2 (0 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 3.4 |
| Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 34,296 |
• Density | 00.0/km2 (0.0/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $1.317 billion |
• Per capita | $38,417 |
| Gini (2018) |  29.7low |
| HDI (2017) |  0.875very high |
| Currency | Markka (mk) (VKM) |
| Time zone | UTC-0 (PST) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +42 |
| ISO 3166 code | VGA |
| Internet TLD | .vg |
Vaiga (Veri: Väiga; [ʋæi̯gɑ] VAEE-ghah), known officially as the Republic of Vaiga (Veri: Väiga Tasavalta) also known as the Free State of Vaiga (Veri: Väiga Vaba Riik) is a sovereign landlocked microstate in ???, wedged between ??? to the west and ??? to the east. Vaiga is a directorial republic, with the Governing Council functioning as the collective head of state of the Republic.
Divided into 7 counties, its capital is the municipality of Petäjärvi. Vaiga is the ?th smallest country in the world, with a total land area of 0 square kilometers (0 square miles) and a population of only 34,296 people. Vaiga speaks the Veri language, a Finno-Ugric language spoken amongst the Verilain people who make up the majority of the population of Vaiga. Vaiga is the only country to recognize Veri as an official language.
Economically, Vaiga has a high GDP per capita of $38,417 and an economy primarily driven by the export of small specialty machinery and the export of distilled liquors such as paloviina. In addition, Vaiga has a small but significant financial sector. In the past 50 years, Vaiga has developed from a predominantly agrarian state into a highly industrialized mixed economy. Vaiga has one of the lowest unemployment figures in the region and has no national debt. Low tax rates in the Republic have led it to be labeled as a tax haven.
A liberal democracy, Vaiga scores high in terms of press freedom, democratic and equality rankings. Vaiga provides universal healthcare to its citizens and is widely regarded to be one of the most peaceful countries in the world- Vaiga lacks a standing army and its police forces are unarmed with the exception of the lightly-armed Border Control Office. Vaiga is a member of the ???, ??? and ???.
History
Geography
Vaiga is landlocked between ??? and ??? in northern ???. Around 62% of Vaiga's land area is covered by temperate pine forest, followed by sizable limestone and oil shale deposits. Several rivers such as the Narva River and the Ohalatva River pass through Vaigan territory, while the land is also host to numerous bogs and the small Valkjarvi Lake. Vaiga lacks any mountains or significant hills, and is instead mostly flat. Most of Vaiga's population is clustered around the rivers, with the capital Petäjärvi located on the banks of the Narva River.
Climate
Vaiga lies in the temparate climate zone and has a continental climate. Due to its location, Vaiga experiences mild and dry temperatures during spring, while summers are much wetter due to the presence of thunderstorms. Autumn is the wettest season, with cyclones bringing heavy rains and thunderstorms into the continental interior. During winter, January and February are by far the coldest months with a record low of -35°C experienced in Petäjärvi in 2004. Snow cover lasts from mid to late December until early May. Precipitation is plentiful especially in the summer months, with nearly 700mm of rain per year.
| Climate data for Petäjärvi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −1.9 (28.6) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
3.3 (37.9) |
11.1 (52.0) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.7 (69.3) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.7 (71.1) |
15.7 (60.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.6 (23.7) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
15.5 (59.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
16.6 (61.9) |
11.3 (52.3) |
6.3 (43.3) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −7.2 (19.0) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
1.1 (34.0) |
6.1 (43.0) |
10.5 (50.9) |
13.0 (55.4) |
11.9 (53.4) |
7.5 (45.5) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
2.2 (36.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 46 (1.8) |
34 (1.3) |
36 (1.4) |
30 (1.2) |
52 (2.0) |
84 (3.3) |
80 (3.1) |
86 (3.4) |
62 (2.4) |
64 (2.5) |
51 (2.0) |
47 (1.9) |
665 (26.2) |
| Source: University of Petäjärvi | |||||||||||||
Government
Politics
Vaiga is a parliamentary directorial republic. Executive governance of the country is vested in the seven-member Governing Council. Unlike most other states, the Governing Council serves as a collective head of state and government. The entire council is responsible for the administration of the Republic whilst the position of Chairman of the Governing Council rotates between members on a six-monthly basis. Whilst technically the head of state, the role of the chairman is a purely ceremonial one. The chairman functions more as a diplomat and sets the agenda of council meetings.
Members of the Governing Council are elected into office every two years by the unicameral parliament of Vaiga, the Kahtšümettäkoto (lit. "house of twenty"). As a multi-party republic, there are numerous political parties in Vaiga. The system means that a single political party has virtually no chance of gaining power alone and must instead form coalition governments to have any chance of getting seats in the Kahtšümettäkoto. Since the inception of the Kahtšümettäkoto, no single political party has been able to achieve a majority of seats. All previous governments have been coalition governments of at least two parties.
The current government of Vaiga is headed by Common Future, a coalition made up of the Vaiga Social Democrats, the Green Alternative and the Feminist Party with a total of 5 seats in the Kahtšümettäkoto.
Administrative divisions
Vaiga is subdivided into seven counties (Veri: maakonnad), each with a county government headed by a governor (maavanem). County governors are elected into office in local elections every two years. The seven counties generally consist of a county capital and its surrounding settlements and hamlets. An exception to this is the national capital of Petäjärvi which is referred to as a republican municipality instead of a county.
| County | Population | Area km2) |
|---|---|---|
| Mikkulainen | 8,039 | ? |
| Mäkrälä | 7,192 | ? |
| Petäjärvi | 4,836 | ? |
| Ohalatva | 4,572 | ? |
| Mõhu | 3,973 | ? |
| Äksi | 3,542 | ? |
| Kärkna | 1,130 | ? |
| Vaiga | 34,296 | ? |
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