Alaska

**Alaska**, officially the **Republic of Alaska**, is a sovereign state located in North America. It is bordered by Canada to the east, south, and southeast, and has a maritime border with Russia along its western coast. Previously, the territory of Alaska was an overseas territory of the California Republic, until receiving its independence in 1945. The capital of Alaska is Juneau, while its most-populous city is Anchorage.

The territory of Alaska was first settled by Alaskan natives in prehistoric times, who subsequently established numerous unconnected tribes throughout the landmass. Outside contact did not occur until the 18th-century, when Russians began settling in the region, establishing Russian America. Alaska was a sparsely populated territory of Russia for about two-thirds of a century, until its sale to the California Republic in 1867. Upon its sale to California, numerous oil deposits were discovered throughout the territory, which led to the development of the Alaskan oil industry, bringing great wealth to California and many new settlers in Alaska, primarily Californians of European descent. Alaska became organized as an overseas territory in 1912, and nationalist sentiment began to grow amongst Alaskan residents. Following an unsuccessful independence referendum in 1923, a successful independence referendum in 1941 later established Alaskan independence for the first time.

Since the establishment of Alaskan independence, Alaska has organized itself as a unitary presidential republic. The President serves as both head of state and head of government, and is the most powerful individual in Alaskan politics. They are tasked with leading a cabinet of department heads, signing or vetoing all passed legislation, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and passing executive orders to guide their policy vision. There is also a Vice President, who deputizes the President and assumes the duties of the President in the case of death or resignation. The unicameral legislature of Alaska is the National Congress, which consists of 105 seats that are elected through multi-member constituencies and closed-list proportional representation.

Of its population of about 739 thousand, approximately 64.5% identifies as white, while 17.3% identifies as Alaska Natives, 8.5% as Asian, 7.0% as multiracial, 1.8% as black, and 0.9% as a different race. The majority of the Alaskan white population came to Alaska from California while it was a Californian overseas territory to work in either the oil, fishing, or lumber industries, while others are descended from original Russian settlers or more recent European immigrants. The Alaska Natives are the original indigenous peoples of Alaska, who belong to more than 200 nationally recognized tribal groups. The Asian population is descended from recent immigrants, primarily from the Philippines and Japan. English is the sole official language of Alaska, and is spoken natively by approximately 89.6% of the population. There are additionally 20 languages that hold official minority language status, these 20 languages all being indigenous languages spoken by various Alaska Native tribes. Approximately 5.2% of the population speaks one of these 20 languages natively, primarily in rural areas. Due to their official status of minority languages, these 20 languages receive official recognition from the Alaskan governments, and all Alaskans have the right to receive their education in one of the languages, and to communicate in one of the languages in the Alaskan government. Approximately 65.5% of the Alaskan population identifies as Christian, with 39.5% identifying as Protestant, 14.2% as Roman Catholic, 6.1% as Eastern Orthodox, and 5.7% identifying as belonging to a different Christian church. Furthermore, 2.1% identify as adhering to a different religion, primarily Alaska Natives identifying with indigenous religions, and the remaining 32.4% identify as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious. Approximately 28.6% of the population attend religious services at least weekly, while 55.1% attend religious services less than yearly.