Övlanda

Övlanda, officially the Republic of Övlanda (: ᛦᚠᚴᛅᛚᛚᛋᚴᛅ ᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅᛋᛅᛘᛆᛚᛚ, Övkallska Landasamell, : オーフランダ共和國, Ōfuranda Kyōwakoku) is a with a   system located on continental western Yoju. It borders Scueria to the east, Norikwhum to the south, Sora to the west and faces the Northern Ocean to its north. The components of its name come from Övska Öva for river, shortened to Öv, and landa, thereby meaning "river land" which alludes to its many streams and flowing bodies of water.

The first evidence of human habitation in Övlanda come from s. The regions that comprise modern-day Övlanda have been inhabited by various cultures throughout the ages, with the attested history of Övlanda starting when speakers of began to create inscriptions in the  alphabetic script around 800 CE. The amount of texts found among Övska-speaking peoples is far higher than most other historical societies, but the means of dispersion is unknown. The Övkall peoples are believed to have emigrated from Roci in northwest Nukigurun, passing through areas with and  peoples and interacting with them culturally and linguistically. As the Övska-speakers pushed west to reach the boundaries of modern Övlanda around 1000 CE, speakers of expanded north from Norikwhum, settling in the fyllşar of Gottchey and Tornbirn. Political power was concentrated in trading centers where chieftains ruling from collected income and fended off adversaries. The West Yoju bronze and iron ages reached Övlanda fairly late, and many items were imported from the south and east either through trade or pillaging. Small chiefdoms would occasionally rise in prominence and conquer large territories, but were just as easily torn apart by internal feuds and invasions.

The modern history of Övlanda began when military explorations from Sinju appeared in the late 18th century. The expansionist powers of Nukigurun and Fusen would come to rival each other for economic and political superiority, mainly targeting the rich. After the Beaver Wars, Övlanda and neighboring Scueria were established as Fusenese, and the administration of Colonial Övlanda was placed in the city of Skerborg (Anshō-shiro). From their initial coastal forts, Fusenese dominance eventually covered all of the country by 1884.

Övlanda has been in a state of political, economic and societal transition since the Heavenly Moon Revolution led to the deposition of former High President and military dictator Warg Stįefalk in July 2015. The armed forces effectively governed the country under semi-martial law until the September 2016 elections, after which it has officially been "cooperating with elected authorities to safeguard the democratic transition". Observers are divided on whether it is the military or the government that actually holds true power over Övlanda, but it is generally considered a strategic shift as the military and economic elite relinquish some powers in hope of greater foreign investment and aid.

Prehistoric
Modern humans first arrived to modern Övlanda after the retreat of the last glacial ice sheets several thousand years ago. Evidence suggests the area was inhabited by both and  for thousands of years. North Germanic speakers first migrated to Övlanda around 1500 years ago, and quickly assimilated the preexisting cultures in the core cultural region of Övlanda.

Medieval period
Starting from the northwest of the country, a period of southwards and eastwards expansion during the medieval Starktraik Period saw the assimilation of the various groups that inhabited the rest of modern-day Övlanda. In the centuries before the first encounter with the colonizers, a patchwork of small fiefs and kingdoms dotted the major trading routes, wooden and stone walls protecting the largest population centers. Mutual co-defense treaties largely inhibited any chieftain from obtaining too much power. As technology slowly progressed, merchants came to ever greater prominence, to the dismay of the landed nobility. This resulted in several decades of violent turmoil which would greatly weaken the Övlandan states against the coming Fusenese colonial threat. Also around this time, the ancient  religious practice began to diverge into the Odatruo, which placed much greater importance on ancestor worship, repentance, hierarchical structure and the veneration of, and the Åsatruo who largely concentrated on  and its associated deities. Odatruo both then and now tend to live in densely-populated areas with clear power structures; Åsatruo followers, meanwhile, are typically found in the vast forested hinterlands and are considered "heathen barbarians" by the Odatruo.

Civil war and military dictatorships
See also: Scueria-Övlanda War

Government
Övlanda is a with a  where the  is the head of state and government. The uppermost wielder of executive power, the president appoints a who are strongly subordinate to the head of state, as they serve at the president's pleasure. The president's power, in turn, is vested in the Övlandan people as well as the advice of the Military-Civilian Administration Commander. The current political system is a result of the Heavenly Moon Revolution of 2015 which deposed the military dictatorship of Warg Stįefalk.

Human rights
See also: 2020 Övlanda riots

The state of has been on an upward trend since the fall of Warg Stįefalk's dictatorship, which was notorious for its gruesome repression, but Övlanda still ranks low on most surveys. Particularly, the issues of, and the  continue to face major obstacles to this day.

Administrative Divisions
Övlanda is divided into 12 first-level administrative subdivisions, called fyllşa, and the Metropolitan Region of Wattnsluta which is not part of any fyllşa. The fyllşa are in turn divided into either rural herað or urban skai (from Fusenese 市, Shi), whereas Wattnsluta is divided into city districts. As Övlanda is a unitary state, all areas are subject to the same federal laws, and they exist for purposes of local government, coordination of resources and statistical purposes only.

Climate
Most of Övlanda's landscape can be placed in either the or  climates, with high-altitude regions being cold enough for the  and occasional glacier.

Economy
Övlanda is classified as a with a heavy dependence on, particularly in. While the nation has a respectable, most of this wealth is concentrated in cities.

Industry
The largest economic sectors in Övlanda are mining, agriculture, pasture, timber, and other traditional/resource-based industries.

Tourism
remains small-scale in the country despite efforts. Obstacles to its growth include lack of adequate connections to areas outside West Yoju, low investment, general unruliness and lack of accommodation.

Energy and infrastructure
Most of the country's limited electricity generation comes from fossil sources such as.

Demographics
Övlanda has an estimated population of 30,465,902 people as of 2020. In the 2014 census, the largest city was Wattnsluta with 3,602,534 inhabitants. 72.4% of the population lived in urban areas, up from 68.9% from the 2003 census. 98.8% of the population were Övlandan citizens, but the actual amount of immigrants is thought to be vastly underrepresented in government data; unofficial estimates put the number at around 1 million. Most of these live in border regions of Wattnsluta slums and come from neighboring West Yoju nations such as Sora.

Languages
Övlanda has rich linguistic diversity, with over 35 commonly recognized languages from two different language families. Despite this, there are only two official languages at the national level: Övska, a loosely standardized written form of Urban Wattnslutan, and Fusenese, which is the mother language of less than half a percent of the country's population, but was the primary language used for official communication during Fusenese subjugation. Most of Övlanda's languages are not mutually intelligible with each other, and a lack of a working in some areas is cited as a major obstacle to national cohesion.



Migration and Transhumance
Övlanda is a country where large-scale is still practiced by much of the rural population and as such is witness to one of the world's most persistent human migrations. Livestock are brought from the lowlands to high-altitude regions during spring, whence they graze before being brought back down before winter. This is done to preserve the in valleys for producing  needed to feed the livestock during the cold winter months. The common mountain or forest pasture used for transhumance in summer is called  or buðer in Övska, but the practice is common among all of Övlanda's indigenous groups. The people reside in summer cabins that share the same name, with most farms having their own säter. The transport remains mostly non-motorized to this day, encouraging the development of transient lodges and trading towns across the many  two times a year. Some peoples in northern Övlanda practice transhumance with, that being primarily the.

Education
A large proportion of the population are officially registered as "illiterate" - but this is a biased interpretation, as government agents often only measures literacy in and. Most of the population is able to both read and write, but the vast majority of people only have functional knowledge in. The 'official' literacy rate is 19.3%, while the estimated real literacy rate is 95.6%. This statistical peculiarity is because Övlandans have a long and intricate literary tradition in their own indigenous runic alphabet, but have only recently began using the introduced Sinjuese writing systems. Övlanda has twenty government-recognized universities, with the most well-known being the Great University of Wattnsluta which enrolls over 20,000 students. Persons who have taken higher education are the only educational group with a solid grasp at Sinju writing systems.

Health
The at birth is around 70.2 years for females and 64.3 for males. Fertility is at 3.51 children per woman. In Övlanda there are about 22 doctors per 100,000 persons.

The 2014 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Övlanda is 350. This compares to 523.4 in 2006 and 923.7 in 1995. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1000 births is 87 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality are 29. In Övlanda the number of midwives per 1000 live births is 7 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 102.

and remain a serious problem in most rural areas. The first modern healthcare facility was opened in 1899 by the Fusenese Northwest Yoju Railroad Company and mainly served Fusenese workers and soldiers. Hospitals can now be found in most major cities, often established with the help of foreign capital. A lack of healthcare infrastructure outside of cities means that rural residents have worse access to healthcare. continues to be widespread in large parts of Övlanda; some people do not interact with modern scientific facilities because of distrust.

Religion
In the 2014 census, 91% of the population practiced (78.2% Odatruo, 12.8% Åsatruo, 0.6% other traditional groupings), 3.1% followed various other introduced belief systems and, and 5.3% claimed  status.

Ritual sacrifice (Blot)
When the early Övkall migrated from modern-day Roci, they brought with them a ritual of known as blot. These blots may be dedicated to native gods, worldly spirits or their ancestors, in some cases even foreign deities and personalities. Numerous traditions exist, but it most commonly involves aspects of a sacramental meal or feast, typically from domesticated animals. There is also a long-standing tradition of, mostly in the form of sacrificing enslaved women after a major chieftain has died, to act as their servant in the underworld.