Catoria

**Catoria** (Vasalonian: *Catorya*), officially the **Principality of Catoria** (Vasalonian: *Principat de Catorya*), is a sovereign microstate in Southern Eurea, in between Spana and Vasalonia. Its capital and most-populous city is Catorya de la Vaie, located in the center of the country. Catoria has a population of approximately 80 thousand people.

Catoria was first organized as a unified independent principality in 894, after the House of Baixas began to rule the territory. After existing for nearly three centuries as an independent principality, Catoria was peacefully annexed into the greater Kingdom of Vasalonia, as the principality was populated by ethnic Vasalonians. Following the unification of Spania in 1183, Catoria was incorporated into the newly formed Spanian kingdom as a minor principality. The incorporation into the Kingdom of Spana was not long-lasting, as it was traded to the Kingdom of Marone in 1256, in exchange for the release of the Spanian nobleman Enrique Gistaín y Bilbao from a Maronan prison. After becoming incorporated into the Kingdom of Marone, Catoria was often neglected by its parent country, and left to develop an independent streak. It was later granted its independence in 1418, in exchange for an agreement that would allow for continued Maronan influence over the principality.

Since its independence in 1418, Catoria has existed as a unitary constitutional semi-elective monarchy. Its head of state is the Princess, who is a ceremonial monarch. In part of its agreement with Marone that granted its independence, the Catorian monarch is always the Maronan head of state, so in its current form, the president of Marone is *ex-officio* the Catorian monarch. The monarch's duties include signing all passed legislation with no veto power, and appointing the Prime Minister, cabinet members, and ambassadors to office. As there is no Catorian military, they do not serve as the commander-in-chief. Due to logistical issues, the president of Marone does not *de facto* perform these duties, and instead appoints a representative to serve as the Catorian head of state in their place. This representative is typically a senior foreign affairs civil servant in the Maronan government, and they serve at the pleasure of the president. When a new president is inaugurated, they will typically recall the representative and appoint one of their own. The head of government of Catoria is the Prime Minister, who is the chief decision-maker for the country. They are tasked with leading a council of ministers, implementing national policy, and overseeing the day-to-day maintenance of the country. Typically, the Prime Minister is the leader of the governing coalition in parliament. The 30-seat General Council is the unicameral legislature of Catoria. Its members are directly elected at-large by Catorian voters in party-list proportional voting.

The Catorian government does not take record of ethnic groups, but does take record of citizenship. Of the 80 thousand inhabitants of Catoria, approximately 43.6% hold Catorian citizenship, while 56.4% do not, with 35.4% holding Vasalonian citizenship, 12.9% holding Spanian citizenship, and 8.1% with other citizenships; dual citizens are asked to denote solely their "primary citizenship." The sole national and official language of Catoria is Vasalonian, a Pescan language. Vasalonian is spoken natively by approximately 81.5% of the population, while 93.5% can communicate in it. The Spanian language also holds official minority language status, as it is spoken natively by 13.2% of the population. Due to this status, government services such as healthcare, education, and elections can also be conducted in Spanian if requested. Approximately 90.3% of the Catorian population adheres to Eurean Catholicism, while 3.4% identify as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious, and the remaining 6.3% adheres to other religions.