Ardwall

**Ardwall** (Ardwallian: *Ardwalle*), officially the **Kingdom of Ardwall** (Ardwallian: *Krondacht Ardwalle*), is a sovereign state in Western Eurea, bordered by Lungary to the southeast and Belgram to the southwest. Its capital and most-populous city is Amsterdert, located on the northeastern coast of the country. Ardwall has a population of approximately 11.1 million people.

Organized settlement in the territory of modern-day Ardwall first began in the fourth century CE, with the formation of a number of small independent city-states and provinces. Over the ensuing centuries, the various city-states and provinces were incorporated separately into various kingdoms and empires. In 1125, the territory of Ardwall was unified for the first time and incorporated into the Kingdom of Spana as Spanian Ardwall. Due to both cultural and geographical distance between Ardwall and Spana, an independent Ardwallian culture began to develop for centuries, although rebellions were often violently put down by the Spanian military. In 1603, Ardwall unilaterally declared their independence from Spana, and their independence was officially recognized.

Following its independence in 1603, Ardwall functioned as an absolute monarchy, but stripped much of the powers of the monarchy to become a constitutional monarchy in 1816. The head of state of Ardwall is the Monarch, who maintains certain ceremonial functions but wields essentially no actual power. The Monarch signs all passed legislation, formally appoints the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, and ambassadors to office, and is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the Ardwallian Armed Forces. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is the most powerful politician in Ardwall. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Monarch on the advice of parliament, and is typically the leader of parliament's governing coalition. The Prime Minister is responsible for overseeing national policy, leading a cabinet of ministers, and handling the day-to-day functions of the country. The Parliament of Ardwall is bicameral, consisting of the 425-seat lower house House of Representatives, where members are elected proportionately in eight constituencies corresponding to the provinces of Ardwall, and the 40-seat upper house Senate, a largely ceremonial house where members are elected directly by each of the eight provinces. Most power is concentrated in the House of Representatives, as they are the only house that can introduce legislation; the Senate may vote to pass or reject the legislation passed in the lower house, although their veto power may be overridden by a second successful vote in the House of Representatives.

Of its population of approximately 11.1 million people, about 76.9% identify as ethnically Ardwallian. The remaining 23.1% are of predominately immigrant origin, as Ardwall has long been a bastion for immigration due to its economic development. At 6.5% of the population, there is a significant Barracan population in Ardwall. The national and sole official language of Ardwall is Ardwallian, a Lungaric language spoken natively by approximately 80.1% of the population. The remaining 19.9% are primarily of immigrant origin, and speak the language of their native country. Approximately 58.5% adhere to the Church of Ardwall, the official state church of Ardwall. However, Ardwall is largely an irreligious nation, ad 27.4% identify as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious, with 72.5% of the total population, regardless of self-identified religious affiliation, stating that they did not believe that a God exists. Approximately 8.7% of the population identify as Muslim, while the remaining 5.4% identify as belonging to a different religion, often different Christian churches.