Chusia

**Chusia** (Chusian: *Čuško*), officially the **Chusian Republic** (Chusian: *Čušká republiká*), is a sovereign state located in Central Eurea, bordered by Zatrania to the northeast and east, Slaveria to the southeast, Horvatia to the south, Snubia and Austlungard to the southwest, and Lungary to the northwest. Its capital and most-populous city is Vaha, located on the west of the country. Chusia has a population of about 11.2 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization first began in the territory of modern-Chusia in the 6th-century, with various small city-states and kingdoms being established. By the 13th-century, the kingdoms of Dohemia and Barhania, each representing half of the territory of modern-Chusia. The two kingdoms unified as the Kingdom of Chusia in the 18th-century, following the marriage of their respective monarchs. The Kingdom of Chusia existed for less than fifty years, and unified with the neighboring Kingdom of Slaveria as the Kingdom of Slavochusia in 1802, following the marriage of their respective monarchs. In 1930, following a referendum, the monarchy was abolished and the constitution was rewritten, establishing the Republic of Slavochusia. Slavochusia existed for another fifty years, until a successful 1982 independence referendum resulted in the independence of Slaveria, and the creation of the independent Chusian Republic and Slaverian Republic. The country was officially split in 1983.

After the split of Slavochusia in 1983, Chusia established itself as a unitary parliamentary republic. Its head of state is the President, who is directly elected via a popular vote for a five-year term that can be renewed once. The President is a ceremonial role, holding very few powers of their own; they serve as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, act as an international representative of Chusia, formally appoint all ministers, and can veto legislation passed by parliament, although their veto can be overridden by a simple majority. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who holds all political power. The Prime Minister is nominated by parliament and formally appointed by the President; most often, they are the leader of the governing coalition in parliament, and are considered to be the country's chief legislator. The Prime Minister is tasked with drafting legislation, enacting their policy agenda, and leading a council of ministers. The parliament of Chusia is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate – the 75-seat upper house – and the Chamber of Delegates – the 235-seat lower house. Senators are directly elected through single-member constituencies, while Delegates are directly elected through nationwide party-lists.

Of Chusia's population of 11.2 million, approximately 75.5% identifies as being ethnically Chusian, while 7.4% identifies as Barhanian – Barhanian was only made an option in 2001, following a successful petition from a Barhanian nationalist group; most ethnologists consider Chusians and Barhanians to be part of the same ethnic group. A further 7.1% identifies as Slaverian, 4.5% as Helonesian, 2.7% as Austlungardian, 1.5% as Kashan, and the remaining 1.3% as other ethnic groups. The Helonesian community is particularly large in Chusia due to government programs meant to invite Helonesian laborers to the country during the 1980s to work in blue-collar positions; many of these immigrant laborers went on to settle in the country permanently. The national and sole official language of Chusia is Chusian, a Slavoric language. Chusian is mutually intelligible with the Slaverian language, with most linguists identifying the two as dialects of a shared language. Approximately 86.5% of the population speaks Chusian natively, while 97.5% is able to communicate in it fluently. The most common languages to be spoken natively besides Chusian are Slaverian, Lungarian, and Esmanese. Chusia is a highly irreligious nation; approximately 27.5% of the population adheres to Eurean Catholicism, 5.5% adheres to a different Christian church, 5.3% adheres to a different religion, and 61.7% identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious. Weekly church attendance numbers only approximately 8.9% of the population.