Lugida

Republic of Lugida Frakimara i-Lugida
Flag
Motto: Nem hainum delanum "In unity, a shine"
Capital and largest city		Natlia 32°26′N 1°0′E
Official languages		Lithian
Ethnic groups (2012)		44.2% Lenthirite 29.9% Melune 11.4% Kitrian 14.5% others
Religion		41.2% Avism 30.9% Irreligious 10.8% Orthodox 9.0% Native religions 8.1% others
Demonym		Lugid Lugia Lugidami
Government		Unitary presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Felufre Kirne
-	Vice President	Anithan Bremi
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Council
-	Lower house	National Assembly
Establishment
-	Early Lugid dynasties	1st millennium BCE
-	Avite Empire	188
-	Melune kingdoms	721
-	Four Swords	1146
-	Kingdom of Melunair	1687
-	First constitution	1868
-	Current constitution	1949
Area
-	Total	431,933 km2 166,770 sq mi
Population
-	2017 estimate	73,860,543 (14th)
-	Density	171/km2 442.9/sq mi
GDP (nominal)		2016 estimate
-	Total	$2,594.1 billion (4th)
-	Per capita	$35,121
Gini (2016)		0.471 low
HDI (2016)		0.905 very high
Time zone		Sahar Coordinated Time (SCT+0)
Date format		yyyy-mm-dd
Drives on the		left
Calling code		+28
Internet TLD		.lg
a.	Coordinates of Lugida: 35°N 0°E

Lugida, officially the Republic of Lugida (Lithian: Frakimara i-Lugida), is a unitary sovereign state located in south central Soltenna. Bordering the country are Kadya and the Rietic Mountains to the west, Yerlan to the northeast, Xynderland to the south, and the Gulf of Sharkunen to the east.

Spanning an area of 431,933 km², Lugida is a highly urbanized country with 86% of the population living in cities out of its population of 74 million. It is Sahar's 14th most populous country and Soltenna's third most populous. Much of the populace is concentrated at the coastline, with the Nagidan metropolitan area spanning from the capital Natlia northwards to Kitlimis holding around 25 million people, making the area one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world.

Earliest permanent settlement in Lugida dates back to 2000 BCE in Mairastra, with civilization starting to flourish with the Tigrate dynasty period from the 7th century BCE. Letsatian Empire conquered most of coastal Lugida from the Altha Dynasty on the 1st century CE introducing more advanced technology and system of government along with Ekuosian influence. Its remains later grew to become the Avite Empire, bringing a Lugid form of Iovism known as Avism and spreading Ekuosian influence to parts of Soltenna. Four Swords is founded in 1146, later to become the dominant naval power of Sahar in the mid 16th to early 18th centuries, before the Lugid portion of the Four Swords was conquered by Melunair in the 1730s, effectively de-establishing the Four Swords and initiated the Forian Exodus. Lugid Revolution ended monarchy and started the first Republic of Lugida in 1868, and the Lugid economy began to rapidly grow as industrialization became widespread throughout the country. Lugida joined the Unity during the Great Ekuosian War during Aten Kate's imperial rule, but was defeated and retaken by the Republican government in 1948. Suffering from extensive war damages, Lugida is one of the largest recipients of the (something plan), marking the beginning of Lugida's rapid post-war economic growth.

Driven by the highly educated and skilled workforce, Lugida is a high-tech developed country with the world's 4th largest economy, mainly as a result of the country's rapid post-war economic growth combined with an export-oriented economy. The capital city Natlia holds the title as one of the leading global cities and one of the largest metropolitan economies of Sahar. High personal freedoms led to the rise of Lugid popular culture such as L-pop and Mikau. Lugida is a founding member of Fordas and the Soltennan Council.

Etymology

The name "Lugida" comes from the Lithian words, Lugia and gaida, meaning "land of the blue". Lugia refers to the Lugid people in general, which ultimately derives from the word Lugi, meaning "blue".

Lugia includes both the Lenthirites and the Melunes, who are ethnically different but share common cultural traits with each other. The demonym's usage dates back from as early as the mid-18th century during the Melune period, when desire for Lugid unification arose, and became popular among the Lugids through Lugid revolutionist movements on the mid-19th century.

History

Main article: History of Lugida

Geography

Lugida is located in the south-central portion of Soltenna, by the Amiyant Sea to the south and the Gulf of Sharkunen to the east. It borders Yerlan at the northeast, Xynderland at the south separated by the Amiyant, and Kadya to the west and to the north. Also bordering the northern part of Lugida is part of the Rietic Mountains.

Geology

Lugida is situated near the border of Soltennan and Akulanen tectonic plates. The Rietic Mountains was formed from the former Rietic plate, which may have collided and eventually merged with the Soltennan plate around 32 million years ago.

Being near two tectonic plate borders, the Rietic Mountains is a volcanic zone. Among around 16 active volcanoes in Lugida, Mount Nidarum is both the most active and the most notable, famed through its series of eruptions including the 1860 eruption that eventually contributed to the later Lugid Revolution. Much of Mount Lenthir was formed through its volcanic activity but lacks any historical records of major eruptions. Available geological evidence suggests Mount Lenthir's last major eruption taking place on around 3,000 BCE, predating the earliest of Qonklese civilizations.

Earthquakes in Lugida are a common sight, but are often low and harmless in magnitude and its epicenter often takes place off the Lugid coastline. Some notable historical earthquakes in Lugida include the 872 Kitlimis earthquake and the 1730 Lumine earthquake and tsunami, the latter of which is estimated as a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and may have been one of the driving factors of the Forian Exodus.

Climate

Lugid climate is predominantly humid subtropical, with variations from north to south. The northern part of Lugida which includes the cities of Melunebet and Nizen experiences a continental climate. A patch of Mediterranean climate is present on the Lugid Amiyant Sea coastline, extending from Dalshabet to the coastal Lugi-Kadic border.

Lugida has an annual average precipitation of around 1100 mm, with higher values observed on the eastern portion of Natika near Mairastra. Conversely, the topmost parts of Mount Nidarum is the least precipitated region. 36 percent of Lugid lands are arable, most of which are located in the Mairune Plains and Lenthiri highlands which hold around 44 percent and 21 percent of the arable lands, respectively.

Economy

Lugida is a mixed economy with a nominal GDP of well over $2.5 trillion dollars. This high GDP is mainly attributed to Lugida's export driven tiger economy and the rapid industrialization that began in the 1960s, which propelled Lugida into one of the most powerful economies in Sahar.

Historically, Natlia is a global trade city, as it is the capital of the Four Swords, which is the leading economic and trading power of Sahar, primarily on the 17th century. The legacy of trade in Natlia lasted for long, only interrupted following the fall of the Four Swords that moved the primary naval and trade power of Sahar to Shohuan and severely disrupted Natlia's trade network until the formation of Lugida in 1868. The initial efforts to recover the economy saw progressive successes, however the Great Ekuosian War severed the economy of Lugida at the time.

As the country rapidly recovered back from the damages made during the war with the financial aid of Shohuan, Lugida eventually began to rise to its economic advent on the 1960s. On this time, industrialization spread and rapidly becomes developed throughout Lugida. In response, the Lugid government at the time conducted a radical change in the economic and education system, in an effort to keep up with the world's economy, eventually leading to Lugida's economic miracle. This change shapes the government itself, and saw the rapid rise of business conglomerates, particularly on the field of technology, like Wilith and Faniant, later to be one of the largest companies in Lugida and even Soltenna. This economic miracle brought back Lugida into one of Sahar's center of global trade, as Lugida implemented an export-oriented tiger economy.

Felufre Kirne's administration brought attention on smaller local enterprises, particularly to address the issue of infrastructure and development in the mostly less developed inner areas of Lugida, in a program known as the "Equalisation". In this program, cities like Lazara and Sharum serve as the role models and the first recipients of the program. The program is made under Felufre's partial dismay on capitalism, which flourished and is politically favored in Lugida. The movement saw some notable successes, however the program saw an opposition within the Lugid government, which is mostly composed of the right-wing economic elites.

Demographics

Population

Lugida has a population of almost 74 million, placing it as the 14th most populous country in the world and the third most populous in Soltenna. A third of the Lugid populace lives in the Nagidan metropolis area, extending from Natlia to Kitlimis and eventually to Deshan.

Lugida's populace is dominated by three indigenous ethnic groups; Lenthirites, Melunes, and Kitrians, making up 44%, 30%, and 11% of the Lugid population, respectively. Significant minority groups include the () people and the () people.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Lugida

Lugida is a secular country with Avism as the de facto state religion, being adhered by around 40 percent of the population according to a 2012 survey. The survey also mentioned that a third of Lugid population identify themselves as not belonging to any religion. Out of (some number) religious buildings in Lugida, 68 percent are Avic temples known as sermets, and 19 percent are () temples. Other significant religions include Pashaism and Pauegism, both of which are Iovic religions.

Historically, () was the dominant religion in Lugida before Iovism was introduced through Letsatian rule. Iovism later developed and assimilated with the local religion to form Avism, and it has been the predominant religion in Lugida for more than a millennium.

Language

Main articles: Languages of Lugida and Lithian

Lugida is linguistically almost homogeneous, with Lithian being the dominant language spoken as the first language by 91 percent of the Lugid population. Lithian is part of the Rietic language family, whose only attested sister languages are Kadic and the minority Melune language. Lithian is written primarily using (something) syllabary, derived from the Qonklese script. Forian alphabet is also widely used, and is prevalent in international contexts.

Besides Lithian, Riyan and Xynder are widely spoken as the second language, with Riyan proficiency reaching as high as 16 percent according to 2015 statistics. Other spoken minority languages include Shohuanese and Terminian, both of which were historically prevalent as the language of trade.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Lugida

The culture of Lugida developed from the mix of native Lugid culture and various foreign influences. Historically, Lugid culture is heavily influenced by Qonklese culture through the (something) Dynasty, and later by Ekuosian culture through Letsatia and its succeeding states.

Lugida's rapid industrialization and urbanization in recent years brought significant changes on the lifestyle of the Lugids, leading to a concentration of the populace to major cities, particularly to the capital Natlia, with multi-generational households typically living as a nuclear family.

Art

Much of traditional Lugid art draws elements from Iovism, as seen in many traditional paintings, sculptures, and notably mosaics. These flourished especially during the Four Swords period, in which it began to draw numerous foreign influences acquired through trade. Interaction between foreign and local Lugid art has been significant, and Lugid art remains to flourish even after Melune conquests which severely hurt the economy of Lugida and other parts of the Four Swords at the time.

Late 19th century saw the earliest coining of the term (), which refers to an art style associated to and popular in Lugida. This would later establish the foundation to later, modern forms of Lugid art. Hana Futikata pioneered the Lugid animation industry on 1926, popularizing the term Mikau.

See also

• List of cities in Lugida
• List of countries in Miraria