Velkanian Isles

The **Velkanian Isles** (Velkanian: *Vælkjáthku*; Forsish: *Välkansk Ölar*), officially the **Kingdom of the Velkanian Isles** (Velkanian: *Kóngaríki Vælkjáthkurath*; Forsish: *Kongeriget Välkansk Ölar*), is an archipelago sovereign state in Northern Eurea, with maritime borders with Forsland and Hartland to the east. The capital and most-populous city is Naríthjábæk, located on the island of Velkania.

The Velkanian Isles is the oldest organized nation in the world. It was first unified in the 8th-century, following the unification of the islands of Velkania, Riksania, and Olobethia under the leadership of the Velkanian monarchy. The nation established itself as a constitutional monarchy, additionally becoming the first constitutional monarchy in the world. After centuries of independent rule, the nation was conquered by Forsland in the 17th-century, and incorporated as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Forsland as the Velkanian Duchy. The Velkanian monarchy was allowed to continue, but the monarch's title was changed to the Duke of Velkania. Despite nationalist sentiment and popular independence movements, the nation was not granted independence until a successful independence referendum in 1965. Since restoring its independence, the monarchy's title was reverted to King of the Velkanian Isles.

Since restoring its independence in 1966, the Velkanian Isles has established itself as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Its head of state is the Monarch, who serves as a ceremonial figurehead. The Monarch holds no actual power in Velkanian politics, and is meant to serve as a symbol of unity for the Velkanian people; the Monarch's small amount of powers include formally signing bills and hosting foreign dignitaries to the Velkanian Isles; while the Monarch can veto legislation, this is not actually practiced. As the Velkanian Isles has no military, the Monarch does not serve as commander-in-chief. Traditionally a matriarchal society, the Velkanian Isles used a system of female-preference primogeniture for during its original era of independence. After being conquered by Forsland in the 17th-century, this switched to male-preference primogeniture. Following the restoration of their independence in 1966, they adopted absolute primogeniture. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who holds the most political power. They are typically the leader of the governing coalition in the Stádlink, and thus can form their own cabinet of ministers. The national legislature of the Velkanian Isles is the Stádlink, a unicameral body. The Stádlink consists of 105 seats, with its members being elected via single-member constituencies; the legislature is led by the Speaker, who presides over debate and does not vote; the Speaker is a member of the governing coalition.

The Velkanian Isles is a highly centralized and well-developed nation. Of its population of about 1.0 million, approximately 57.3% reside in its capital city Naríthjábæk, while 86.9% in total reside on the major island of Velkania. The islands of Riksania and Olobethia tend to be much less-populous and less densely populated. A unitary state, the nation is divided into six counties. The regions do not hold any power, and exist solely for statistical purposes. Approximately 92.5% of the population identifies as ethnically Velkanian, while 5.4% identifies as Forsish; most of the Forsish population migrated to the Velkanian Isles while the country was part of Forsland, and have since remained following independence. The remaining 2.1% of the population consists of other ethnic groups, primarily Harts and those of recent immigrant origin. There are two official languages in the Velkanian Isles: Velkanian and Forsish. Velkanian, the last surviving of the Velkan language family, is the national language and is spoken natively by about 94.1% of the population; it is more common in daily usage, and is additionally the language of education, politics, and local entertainment. Forsish, a Laposcandian language that is mutually intelligible with the Hart language, is spoken natively by about 5.3% of the population; it is primarily used in international transactions and the entertainment industry, seldom used in daily usage. Approximately 85.7% of the Velkanian population is bilingual in both Velkanian and Forsish, most common in older generations. In 2017, only 55.5% of people under the age of 18 were fluent in Forsish. While the Velkanian constitution allows for the freedom of religion, most Velkanians adhere agnosticism, atheism, or Velkanian paganism. There are additionally minorities of Northern Eurean Christians, which was introduced to the Velkanian Isles by Forsland.

The Velkanian Isles has established itself as one of the most developed and progressive nations in not only Eurea, but also the world. It ranks favorably in areas such as education, press freedom, livability, and safety, and experiences high levels of human development, and low levels of political corruption. It has been ranked as the best nation in the world for women every year from 2010 to 2019.

## Politics

### Administrative divisions

*Main article: Regions of the Velkanian Isles.*

The Velkanian Isles are divided into six regions. As a unitary state, the counties have very no administrative powers, and exist solely for statistical purposes.