Gumberland

**Gumberland** (Gumber: *Gárne*), officially the **Republic of Gumberland** (Gumber: *Parblacht hGárne*), is a sovereign state located in Western Eurea. Gumberland makes up the majority of the island of Gumberland, with Northern Gumberland – a constituent country of the Ditrovian Kingdom – making up the upper one-quarter. Gumberland additionally has a maritime border with the Ditrovian Kingdom to the southeast. Its capital and most-populous city is Newdare, located on the southeastern of the country. Gumberland has a population of about 15.8 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization began in the territory of modern-Gumberland in the 4th-century, with the establishment of a number of city-states. The city-states later unified in the 13th-century, creating the Kingdom of Gumberland. The Kingdom remained stable for several centuries, until its eventual conquer by the Ditrovian Kingdom in the 19th-century and subsequent annexation. Gumberland then became a constituent country of the Ditrovian Kingdom, and its culture was extensively Ditrovinized. For many decades, Gumberland was known as the most impoverished region of the Kingdom, and the centralized Ditrovian government struggled with meeting the demands of the Gumber citizens. Amidst growing unrest in the beginning of the 20th-century, the Ditrovian government allowed for most of the territory of Gumberland to secede and create its own independent nation, while the northernmost part of the island was to remain in the Ditrovian Kingdom as Northern Gumberland, to the large amount of Ditrovian-identifying people who resided in the region. The decision was agreed upon by both parties, and Gumberland was granted its independence as the Republic of Gumberland.

Since receiving its independence in 1903, Gumberland has functioned as a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic. Its head of state is the Uchtarán, who is elected via a popular vote for a six-year term that can be renewed once. The Uchtarán is largely a ceremonial figurehead in Gumber politics, with very few actual powers. They can formally appoint ministers, ratify treaties, veto bills (although their veto can be overridden by a simple majority in parliament), serve as the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and act as the supreme representative of Gumberland abroad and at home. The head of government is the Faorésit, who wields the most political power in the country. The Faorésit is typically the leader of the governing coalition in parliament, and they are tasked with drafting legislation and leading a council of ministers. The parliament of Gumberland is called the Airenacht hGárne. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses – the 45-seat upper house the Daeblod hGárne, and the 285-seat lower house the Hávi hGárne.

Of its population of about 15.8 million people, approximately 82.1% identifies as ethnically Gumber, including those from Northern Gumberland. Due to Gumberland's nationality laws, anyone born in either the Republic of Gumberland or Northern Gumberland are granted Gumber citizenship. A further 7.4% identifies as coming from a different Eurean ethnic group, including non-Gumbers from the Ditrovian Kingdom, while 6.1% identifies as Helonesians, mainly from East Helonesia, 4.3% identifies as Tarficans, including North Tarficans, and the remaining 0.1% identifies as a different ethnic group, primarily those of mixed origin. There are two official languages of Gumberland: Ditrovian, a Lungaric language, and Gumber, a Ditrovic language. Ditrovian was introduced to Gumberland in the 19th-century, and quickly became the dominant language due to forced Ditrovinization policies. Gumber is the national language of Gumberland, and has been spoken in the territory for centuries. With about 83.1% of Gumbers citing Ditrovian as their native language, it is by far the dominant language in society; a further 10.5% identify Gumber as their native language, while the remaining 6.4% speak other languages natively. All Gumber students must study both Ditrovian and Gumber in school, and due to this, 70.1% of the population are fluent in Gumber, even if it is not their native language. Most Gumbers adhere to Eurean Catholicism, accounting for 63.5% of the population. A further 10.6% identifies as belonging to a different Christian church, while 5.0% belong to a different religion, and 20.9% identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious. Approximately 30.5% of Gumbers state that they attend religious services at least weekly.