Sudmark

**Sudmark** (Sudish: *Sudmark*), officially the **Kingdom of Sudmark** (Sudish: *Keriget Sudmark*), bordered by Lungary to the south, with maritime borders with Framland to the north and the Ditrovian Kingdom to the west. Its capital and most-populous city is Randhaven, located on the northeastern coast of the country. Sudmark has a population of about 7.8 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization first began in the territory of modern-Sudmark in the 3rd-century, with various small city-states and kingdoms being established by settlers arriving from modern-day Resha. The territory was unified in the 11th-century, with the formation of the Kingdom of Sudmark. Sudmark existed as a small but prominent monarchy for several centuries, until being conquered by the Kingdom of Framland in the 18th-century and incorporated into their territorial empire. Sudmark existed as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Framland for slightly over a century, until they were peacefully granted the restoration of their independence in the 19th-century. After restoring their independence, their monarchy's power was also restored.

After its initial unification, Sudmark established itself as an absolute monarchy. Its head of state and head of government was the Monarch, holding all powers over the state. Following its conquer by Framland and its restoration of independence in 1883, Sudmark reformed itself as a constitutional monarchy. Now, the Monarch acts solely as the ceremonial head of state, with no real powers besides those they exercise for ceremonial functions. The chief politician of the country and head of government is the Prime Minister. Typically the leader of the governing coalition in parliament, the Prime Minister is in charge of legislation, acts as the chief international diplomat and ambassador of Sudmark, and heads a council of ministers tasked with drafting legislation. The Thusting is the unicameral parliament of Sudmark, with 285-seats, with three-quarters of the seats being allocated through electoral lists, and one-quarter through single-member constituencies.

While Sudmark has a population of 9.5 million residents, the government does not take records of ethnic groups. It is estimated that 86.7% of the population was born to at least one Sudish parent and holds Sudish citizenship by birthright, while the remaining the remaining 13.3% are of immigrant origin, primarily coming from neighboring nations, Tarfica, and Eastern Eurea. The sole official and national language of Sudmark is Sudish, a Laposcandian language. Sudish is closely related to the Framish and Reshan languages, to the point where they form a dialect continuum, and the standardized versions of all three are mutually intelligible; this has resulted in close relations between the three nations' politics, entertainment, populations, and cultures. Sudmark is one of the most irreligious nations in the world; approximately 42.2% of the population identifies as Christian, with 32.2% as members of the Church of Sudmark, 2.5% as nondenominational Christians, and 7.5% as members of other Christian churches. 8.5% of the population identifies as belonging to another religion, while 49.3% identifies as irreligious, agnostic, or atheist. Weekly religious attendance is also very low, numbering only 12.4%.