Lausten

Lausten (/ˈlɔst. ɛn/) officially the Grand Order of Lausten, is a confederal parliamentary stratocracy consisting of 19 reaches, with Hügelsbarden as the de-facto seat of the central government. The country is situated in Bridgidna, where it is bordered by Lochland to the north. Lausten is a landlocked country between two large mountain ranges with most of the nation’s population living in the Gessel Plateau. While the mountains occupy the greater part of the territory, the Lausten population of approximately 7.5 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Bad Kennelbach and Munchtacken.

The establishment of the Grand Order is traditionally dated to 13 Fein 164, which is celebrated annually as Lausten Day. It has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war for a large part of its existence. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Lausten comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions: Lausten, Lochlander, Tyrelian and the Stalgen-speaking valleys. Therefore, the Laustens, although predominantly Lausten-speaking, do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity; rather, the strong sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, shared values such as liberty and direct democracy.

Lausten has the highest nominal wealth per adult (financial and non-financial assets) in the world according to and the highest gross domestic product per captia of any nation in the world. However, Lausten is also the most expensive country in the world to live in, as measured by the price level index.

Lausten citizens have the second-highest life expectancy in the world, and Lausten is tied for last with Oslanburg in business corruption indices, which means both nations have low levels of bribery. Bad Kennelbach and Munchtacken have each been ranked among the top cities with the highest quality of life in the world, with the former coming second globally. However, the two cities are rated as the fifth- and sixth- most expensive cities in the world to live in.

Geography of Lausten

Extending between two great mountain ranges with an interceding plateau in between, Lausten has great geographical diversity despite its small area. The more mountainous eastern and western regions are home to only a small section of Lausten people, most of them residing within the Gessel Plateau

Lausten contains three basic topographical areas: the mountains to its west, the Gessel Plateau, and the eastern mountains. The majority of the Lausten population live in the Gessel Plateau. Among the high valleys of the mountains, many glaciers are found. These glaciers collectively hold 3.2% of Bridgidna’s water supply.

The more populous central part of the country, comprising about 30% of the country's total area, is called the Gessel Plateau. It has greater open and hilly landscapes, partly forested, partly open pastures, usually with grazing herds, or vegetables and fruit fields. Among these features, the largest lakes and cities in the nation can be found.

Climate

The Lausten climate is generally temperate, but can vary greatly between the localities, from glacial conditions on the mountaintops to the often pleasantly warm and dry climate at the southern reaches of the Gessel Plateau. There are some areas in the southern part of Lausten where some cold-hardy palm trees are found. Summers tend to be warm and humid at times with periodic rainfall so they are ideal for pastures and grazing. The less humid winters in the mountains may see long intervals of stable conditions for weeks, while the lower lands tend to suffer from inversion, during these periods, thus seeing no sun for weeks.

The mountain areas experience a wide amount of winds, which can often make it difficult for the inhabitants of the valleys below. But in some other areas, the climate is pleasant enough for plants such as wine to grow.

Precipitation tends to be spread moderately throughout the year with a peak in summer. Autumn is the driest season, winter receives less precipitation than summer, yet the weather patterns in Lausten are not in a stable climate system and can be variable from year to year with no strict and predictable periods.

Economy of Lausten

Lausten has a stable, high-tech economy that enjoys first place in both wealth and gross domestic product per captia rankings, having the highest average wealth per adult. It has been renowned for its high economic freedoms, but also maintains a robust system of public services. It has also been ranked as one of the most competitive economies in the world.

The main industry in the nation is manufacturing, and it is known for high quality mechanics such as music instruments, watches, knives, and computer chips. The largest manufacturing section is chemicals, which is responsible for 26.4% of the economy overall.

It has been consistently ranked in the top ten states to work in, as it has a labor union participation rate of 34%, and the unemployment rate has stayed at around 2%, with only small spikes to 4% whenever the world enters a recession. It also has a migrant population of 23.2%, one of the highest in the world.

Lausten has been renowned for its large banking industry, which has been helped along by the nation’s low tax burden on foreign assets, which has brought the nation a steady stream of investment. However, the recent lag in growth has some voices calling for economic reforms.

Demographics

Language

Lausten is the national language, but nine other tongues are widely used, and laws are required to be written in all ten.

The official language used in education, publications, announcements and websites is Lausten, Ostran, and Stalgen. Many local dialects are spoken in Lausten, and though their base is typically Standard Lausten, their corresponding speakers have certain degrees of difficulty when trying to understand each other.

Ethnic groups

Historically most Laustens were seen as Loche, though this belief has radically changed in the last century as new archaeological evidence comes to light that the Laustens are a unique subset of the Bridgidnan halgroup. Laustens now see themselves as a unique and distinct identity among all other nations.

Religion

Lausten was initially founded by a grant from the the Makhali Rabbi Benjaru Ashab to create a knightly order in the mountains of Lochland to defend the nation from invaders. The original inhabitants were Pagans, called Old Believers by many today. Most converted to Makhalism during the early days of the Order’s rule, but when the lands were invaded by Lanlania, Sentricism was introduced and rapidly became the area’s second largest religion.

Today, irreligion is common, and 21% of Lausten people either “do not believe in any God, spirit, or life-force” or “did not care about whether or not there is any God, spirit, or life force”. Makhalism maintains a plurality of 38%, and Sentricism is held among 26% of the nation’s population, 6% belonging to the Old Believers, while a further 10% are labeled as “other”, typically immigrants.