Marressaly

Marressaly is a coastal country located in Central-Western Artemia. Marressaly is a  under an    which contains a population of over 42.6 million people. The majority of Marressaly citizens live urban lifestyles along major inland urban centres with the largest settlement and capital being Rotunda in the Confederal Administrative province. Marressaly encompasses 472,325 km2.

Modern-day Marressaly is bordered to the north by BLANK, to the North-east by Gardarike, to the South-east by BLANK, to the south by the Eurybian Sea and to the west by Mero-curgovina. Its geography is dominated by continental and  which cover FRACTION of the country’s total land area. Interior BLANK has RAINFALL annual rainfall which contributed to the WEATHER conditions. Much of the Marressaly population resides in land spread across major settlements. Humans have inhabited in the regions that are modern-day Marressaly since the.

Marressaly ranks high on the, and has a upper middle income economy. The Marressalic economy is primarily composed of developing tertiary sectors as the number of skilled workers increases, however primary and secondary sectors such as and,  and civilian manufacturing are still major contributors to the nation’s economy. The country has a rapidly growing ICT and Electronics sector which has generated competitive wages compared to other states in the region and is projected to become a dominant sector of the Marressalic economy.

Dorina of Ila
Evil jeanne d'arc, captured and burned at the stake during a counter attack. Believed by locals to be a demon due to genocidal tendencies but domestically believe to be a defender of Marriscalh independence.

"Dirty Dozen" Airforce Mercenaries and their role in Kesh
Supporting Theykan Volunteers was the primary role served, running CAS roles.

Ex-Marressaly Airforce pilots turned mercenaries after the end of the Mero-Curgov civil war, turned into a commercial entity with Marressaly government sanction.

Geography
Marressaly is located along the Eurybian in Central-Western Artemia encoompassing a total landmass of 472,325 km2. It is bounded to the north by BLANK, to the North-east by Gardarike, to the South-east by BLANK, to the south by the Eurybian Sea and to the west by Mero-curgovina. Its borders Gardarike are established by the eastern mountain range, forming a basin with the central Marressaly alps. Marressaly’s other borders were established by treaty and local agreements rather than natural features and limitations. Marressaly’s position along the Eurybian allows direct access to Kesh through relatively short-range shipping routes and has opened the nation to trade globally.

Approximately two thirds of Marressaly is made up of mountains, highlands and high elevation hill which has resulted in a large portion of the population moving south into the flatter coastal regions harbouring some of Marressaly’s largest settlements, including the largest city, Bativa residing along the warm south-east Eurybian coast of Marressaly and is home to Marressaly’s largest seaport NAME, and civilian shipyard NAME. However, the nation’s administrative district and capital city reside far inland within the central basin, the city was constructed as a means to provide a central, protected neutral ground between the provinces early in the confederations life and remains the de jure capital of the nation.

Population
As of 2021 the Marressaly has a total population of BLANK million, placing it amongst the smallest nations in the world. Marressaly has a national population density at BLANK people per square kilometres. It has a slow growing population with a 0.6% annual change as of 2021, and a relatively high life expectancy with males expecting live up 82.5 years and females living 83.5 years.

Marressaly has a growing immigrant population, largely from other Artemian nations which make up 12.7% of the national population. This is a result of the relaxing of Marressaly's stringent immigration policies which previously did not grant foreigners born within Marressaly citizenship, unless they are born to at least one Marressalic parent. Gaining citizenship in Marressaly is a long process with foreigners having to live within Marressaly for a minimum uninterrupted period of 10 years and must complete a two year integration program in which they are taught the Marressaly language, customs and traditions which are seen as essential for successful integration into society. Historically, harsh citizenship processes have limited Marressaly's growth through immigration and only as of 1989 has population growth by permanent immigration gained traction as a result of policies which fast track immigration applications if they fit areas of the economy that lack experience or staff, or are industries that the government is actively seeking to expand. Additional benefits have been introduced since 1989 such as small monetary incentives and tax breaks for a limited number of sought after professions.

Major Cities

 * See more: Provinces of Marressaly

Marressaly holds a higher than average urbanisation rate with 83% of the Marressaly population residing within the cities. This is largely a result of the difficult geography which covers parts of the nation, this has caused most cities to be concentrated in the flatter central Marressaly with few major towns being constructed amongst the mountain ranges of southern and eastern Marressaly.

Education

 * See more: Marressaly Education System

The education sector in Marressaly is made up by a majority of federally owned and funded public schools with very few private institutions even at tertiary education level. Children study until the age of 18, all curriculum is decided by a federal education authority and is the mandatory standard for education across Marressaly with grade scales dictated and standardised at a federal level to remove discrepancies between schools. As a result of post graduate military service requirements for all Marressalic citizens, curriculum includes small introductory courses to the armed forces which commence in a students' 10th year of study. These courses often include introductions to firearms safety and maintenance, military history and other topics that will assist in their post graduate service period.

Marressaly sits amongst some of the most educated nations on Anterra, with a total of 73.9% of the population having completed an education qualification of any kind, 54.9% of which have completed a form of post secondary tertiary education after their Secondary Education Qualification and 45% have sought non-tertiary forms of post secondary education. Schooling typically lasts 13 years and is compulsory in some form or another for Marressalic citizens and residents with students required to complete schooling up to at minimum Year 11 before transitioning to alternate education solutions such trade schools for plumbing, construction and other labour based positions.

In the final year of schooling in Marressaly (Year 12) students choose two work sectors they are interested in and are given pre-chosen subjects based on those sectors which expands their general knowledge of different positions and work types within any given area of work and assists their transition to tertiary education by teaching them what to expect out of their chosen areas. Upon completion of their final students sit several exams based on their subjects which produces a final aggregate score which is used for entry into tertiary education institutions, with different courses having different entry pre-requisites, students do not have to choose courses within the two work areas they chose at the beginning of their final year however.

While most students are expected to graduate and transfer to a military academy to complete the compulsory service period with the Marressalic Armed Forces, it is possible to opt to defer service in favour of completing tertiary if the course is present on a service exemptions list updated yearly by the Marressalic government. The exemptions can delay the compulsory service period until after completing tertiary education if the course they wish to partake in benefits them during the compulsory service period, or completely bypass the compulsory service period if the course chosen leads to careers which the Marressalic government states are lacking personnel.

For tertiary level studies, the Marressalic government offers government indexed loans covering all education related costs to citizens in order to pay for any course of choice. Citizens are only expected to begin paying their government loans after they have graduated, have entered the workforce and reach a set minimum pay.

Administrative Divisions
Marressaly is divided into ___ administrative divisions operating under the Federal Assembly. This includes ____ CLANS (Anglic lit.: Tribe) and ___ HALF-CLANS (Anglic lit.: Split/half tribe). The CLANS derive from the old monarchist confederal government divisions which can be traced back to paleolithic era Marressalic CLANS, which over time merged and evolved beyond the typical kin-group tribal establishments. HALF-CLANS were introduced after the unification of the Marressalic tribes and are typically CLANS who have split or lost territory and were typically classified as a lesser CLANS.

The CLANS are de jure, and have permanent government status with high levels of independence. Under the Federal Assembly the CLANS are all equal in status, except that HALF-CLANS have half representation in the CLAN-HEAD Assembly (One CLAN-HEAD instead of two) and only have half a vote in Federal CLAN referendums. Each CLAN follows a directorial system and are able to have their own constitution, parliament, government, police and courts. They also have varying populations, geographical areas and at times recognised languages.

Structure
The basis of modern politics within Marressaly is a democraticised model of Marressaly's old monarchic confederation system adopted in 1876 which shifted from an enlightened non-elected confederation of tribes to a secular elected confederation with semi-direct democracy, deposing the monarchy in the process. It does not feature a codified constitution and is built upon a series of basic laws which were established by the old monarchy and then altered by the Confederal Assembly in 1876, covering basic individual rights and the political division of power across the Confederal Assembly. There are three primary bodies at the federal level: the bicameral Confederal Assembly (legislative), Executive Council (executive) and the Popular Court (judicial).

The Confederal Assembly consists of two houses: the Council of States which consists of two representatives (LANGUAGE: CLAN-HEAD, Anglic Lit.:Senior Tribesperson) from each CLAN and one from each HALF-CLAN who are elected on a per-CLAN basis, and the Council of Commons, which are elected under a system of , dependent on the population of a given CLAN. Members of both houses can only serve for 3 year terms and they only serve as members of the Confederal Assembly part-time. Both the upper and lower house have representative speakers that mediate and preside over debates and discussions that occur within either body, while the Executive Council utilises an Executive Chancellor to fulfil a similar role. The Executive Council is a collection of elected representatives that act as a collective head of state, voting and selection of members for the Executive Council is carried out only within the Confederal Assembly, the selected Executive Chancellor holds no vote amongst the Executive Council but can participate in discussions unlike the representatives in the upper and lower houses who hold no voting power, nor means of discussion. Through referendum, citizens are able to challenge any law passed by the Confederal Assembly and introduce amendments to the basic laws.

Defense

 * See more: Marressaly Armed Forces

The Marressaly Armed Forces (LANGUAGE: -) is made up of a combination of the of land (LANGUAGE: -), sea (LANGUAGE: -) and air forces (LANGUAGE: -) and is the acting military force of the Marressaly. The Marressalic military is primarily tasked with the defense of Marressaly and its long term territorial integrity however it maintains several overseas deployments, also opting to participate in joint training and peacekeeping operations internationally as a means to continually improve the nations defense capabilities and expertise. Marressaly has utilised various levels of as a means to bolster its pool of  since the early 20th century, as of 2001 only one in six eligible citizens are required to serve in the active reserve for one year, however all citizens are expected to undergo basic training at the age of 18 and are part of the inactive components of the provincial militia. Its forces currently number 592,581 personnel across three main branches (reserve personnel included). The military is influential in Marressaly economics and politics and is exempt from laws that apply in other sectors, granting it considerable power and independence within the state built on its prestige, however since the early 2010's the civilian administration has introduced moves to cut back on the military’s political influence and potentially abolish conscription entirely.

The Armed Forces are overseen by the Directory of Defense who are the high level administrative component of the Marressaly Armed Forces which itself utilises a shared power structure between high ranking military officials and representatives of the civil administration. It handles procurement, human resources, enlistment and other roles pertaining to the Armed Forces. The Directory of Defense maintains a permanent headquarters in CAPITAL. As a result of the military’s high level of political influence and independence it is often regarded as part of Marressaly’s “deep state”.

Conscription, reservists and the Provincial militias
In order to maintain war time readiness, COUNTY has maintained a mandatory conscription policy for all adults between the ages of 18 to 45 years old for a period of 24 months for those not attending tertiary education or 12 months for those registered to attend tertiary education. The service period for conscripted personnel begins one month after their 18th birthday and occurs prior to any form of tertiary education, with some tertiary education courses being exempt from the active service period. Upon completing conscripted active reserve service, citizens remain on a reservist list until the age of 45 and are placed in their closest Provincial Militia unit unless they opt to stay in the active reserve.

The active reserve is legislatively considered three seperate sub-branches of the army, navy and airforce rather than one collective entity. It serves to fill a high commitment reserve position in the Marressaly armed forces and is only compulsory for a period of 24 months, continued service in the active reserve is voluntary. The active reserve is intended to support the armed forces by providing a fill-in force that can be organically added or integrated into existing active units during wartime and is intended as a rapid mobilisation force. The active reserve in peacetime fills several roles, such as a volunteer gendarme force, border security and patrol and facility/infrastructure protection and other guard roles across Marressaly.

In addition to the main armed forces the Marressaly Provincial Militia (LANGUAGE: -) operates as a national low commitment territorial defense force and is an effectively independent force with its own command structure operating alongside Marressaly army serving to bolster the Marressaly Armed Forces in the event of war. The Provincial Militia is entirely made of reservist and conscripted personnel who are all subject to basic training which can occur during active service or during their conscripted service period before being placed within the home guard unit for their local militia unit typically within their town of residence. All militia personnel undergo yearly training refreshes typically lasting between two to six weeks depending on role. Leadership within the Provincial Militia is almost exclusively made up of reservist officers or officer cadets who are currently attending the Marressaly Military Academy in CAPITAL, some of which will go into active service others will remain in the reservist force and only mobilised in the event of war or national catastrophe. The regulations of the Marressaly militia system allow soldiers to maintain their own personal equipment, including weapons (not including ammunition), within their household or in a regional unit armoury in order to allow rapid mobilisation, a system which has been put to use in the past in situations where the Marressaly Provincial Militia was partially mobilised pre-emptively due to fears of regional instability and conflict affecting Marressaly.

The provincial militia can also double as an emergency response institution during times of nation crises with various units being trained in search and rescue, flood response and other humanitarian activities that can be utilised domestically in the event of natural or man made disaster.

Domestic Arms Industry

 * See more: List of Marressaly Defense Contractors

Marressaly maintains an extensive and well-developed defense industry as a means to fulfill its defense requirements without a large reliance on foreign manufacturers and defense contractors thus allowing it to maintain its policy of military non-alignment.

The domestic arms industry operates under the Directorate of Armament Research, Procurement and Manufacturing a branch of the Directory of Defense, which co-ordinates the efforts of various state owned manufacturing and design workshops across all branches of the armed forces across the country. The Directorate of Armament Research, Procurement and Manufacturing handles the assignment of procurement tender, design competitions and other internal procurement and design processes through direct co-ordination with the armed forces through the Directory of Defense. This allows the armed forces to place requests for equipment through the Directory of Defense without impeding, extending or complicating the design process as the Directorate of Armament Research, Procurement and Manufacturing handles the technical and costing aspects of procurement.

The Marressaly defense industry has extensive history, with some defense contractors having been in business for over 300 years. As of 1976 the Marressaly defense industry began to diversify by partially privatising its defense contractors which attracted foreign investment from various nations. This as a result has allowed Marressaly's defense contractors to access a larger financial base, increased availability of resources and also opening the Marressaly defense industry to a wider export market through the relaxation of export controls on Marressaly weaponry and military equipment.

Private Security Industry
As a result of the two reserve forces being present within the Marressaly armed forces, various prominent private security contractors have formed out of low commitment provincial militia units utilising their active reserve conscript training and yearly refreshes to maintain a trained private security force while often obtaining pay rates beyond those offered in the active reserve or even active armed forces.

This has overall led to an active private security sector both in civilian and military applications, domestically and internationally with several notable companies partaking in peacekeeping and humanitarian contracts abroad.

Economy
The Marressaly economy is a middling and stable economy when ranked internationally. The Marressalic economy, like many others, is largely driven by its services sector accounting for 64.7% of its GDP in comparison to manufacturing which only accounts for 25.1% and agriculture sitting at just under 1.6%. Marressaly maintains an export-based economy based on its services sector such as financial services as well as its industrial sector which produces raw materials and various manufactured goods, but also features other economic sectors such as textiles and alcohol production. The nation as of 2019 has a gross domestic product (PPP) of NUMBER billion. Marressaly is a high-income country due to a gross national income (PPP) per capita of NUMBER - Marressaly has a growing middle class due to continued state investments in high-skill vocational education and critical infrastructure, as well as the expansion of technology based industries such as electronics design and information technology sectors supplementing the increases to the production and import of consumer goods. Over the past 10 years, Marressaly's real gross domestic production growth has averaged at 2.67%.

Marressaly also has a small but changing modern agrarian economic sector, featuring advancing hydroponics techniques and the adoption of urban vertical farming which has sparked a move towards the abandonment of conventional cattle farming and the experimentation with lab-grown meats. Its growing agricultural industry produces various agricultural goods including cereals, vegetables, and cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. Timber is also a large export in Marressaly and as of 2001 has been gathered in a more sustainable manner with the introduction of replantation laws. Furthermore, the mineral extraction and refinement industry exports various minerals such as lignite, iron, coal and silver as well as steel and various metal alloys. The resource extraction fuels the small Marressalic industrial base and manufacturing sectors.

Marressaly plays a major role in global logistical services, being the birthplace of palletised and standardised cargo transportation and distribution as well as commercial forklifts, later becoming the founder of the Artemo-Eurybian Logistics Standards Organisation which established local logistics standards, and eventually expanding globally.