Augustina

Augustina, officially the Augustine Republic (French: République Augustine), is an archipelagic country located in the North Atlantic Ocean, sharing maritime borders with the Kadersaryinan Islands. With a total area of 678,994 km2 (262,161 sq mi), It is the 39th-largest country in the world. The sovereign state is subdivided into 24 provinces and 1 federal district, The provinces and the federal district have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system.

The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Augustina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century.

The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Augustina becoming the eighth wealthiest nation in the world by the early 20th century. According to the Maddison Historical Statistics Project, Augustina had the world's second highest real GDP per capita in 1895 and 1896, and was consistently in the top ten before at least 1920. By the start of the 1920s, Augustina descended from political instability and economic decline that pushed it back into underdevelopment. During the Presidency of Gerald Lamarre, Augustina went from a low-income country to a upper-middle income country in 1972 while the "Miracle of Ermintrude Augustin" was happening.

Augustina is a developing country and ranks 40th in the Human Development Index, the fourth highest in North America behind Magisteria, Canada, and the United States, and continuously ranks high in measures of socioeconomic performance. It's advanced economy is one of the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon petroleum and well-developed international trade networks. Augustina is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization of American States (OAS). It is a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Etymology
The name "Augustina" comes from the surname of Ermintrude Augustin, the country's general, first and only emperor and national hero.

Early history: 14,000 years ago
The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago.

British North America: 1763-1801
Augustina was a part of the British North America as the Province of Ermintrude in 1763 until 1801.

Independent Empire: 1801-1841
Augustina requested to leave the British North America but the British refused. After that, Tensions between Augustines and the British increased and would start a war on February 15, 1801. The war would end on July 31, 1801 with Augustina winning and the British lost. The Province of Ermintrude was renamed to "Augustina", named after the First and only Emperor of the Empire, Ermintrude Augustin.

First Republic: 1841-1845
The early republican government was nothing more than a military dictatorship, with army dominating affairs both in Auvergne and in the states.

Second Republic: since 1845
Civilians returned to power in 1845 when Édouard Botterill assumed the presidency. He became popular during his tenure through the economic growth. During 1895 and 1896, Augustina had the world's second largest real GDP per capita in the world behind Argentina. By the beginning of the 1920s, Augustina descended from political instability and economic decline that pushed it back into underdevelopment.

Gerald Lamarre, a centre-right politician, was inaugurated as president in 1969 promising a better economy and a less corrupt country. His economic policies were extremely successful as the economy starts to thrive from Lamarre's economic policies, Corruption was also being eradicated during his term as president. In 1991, Gerald Lamarre died due to pneumonia. After Lamarre's death, his funeral was attended by 150,000 people and was remembered as "Augustina's Greatest President"

Government and politics
The form of government is a democratic federative republic, with a presidential system. The president is both head of state and head of government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Jean-Claude Bannister, elected in the 2018 presidential election. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Augustine Federal Constitution, the country's supreme legal document. The federal government is composed of three branches:


 * Legislative: The bicameral National Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
 * Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
 * Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

Parties and elections
Augustina has operated under a multi-party system for most of its history. For elective offices at most levels, provincial-administered primary elections choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. The four major political parties are the Augustine Democratic Movement (ADM), Federal Libertarian Union (FLU), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the Socialist Worker's Party (SWP).

At the national level, Augustina elects a head of state (the President) and a legislature. The franchise extends to all citizens aged 16 and over, and voting is mandatory (with a few exceptions) for all those who are between 18 and 70 years of age.

The President and the Vice-President are elected in one ballot, for a four-year term, by direct popular vote, using a runoff voting system: a second vote is held if no party wins more than 45% of the votes, or more than 40% with also at least 10 percentage points more than the runner-up. Before the 1994 election, the president and vice-president were both elected by an electoral college.

The National Congress has two chambers. The House of Representatives of the Nation has 300 members, elected for a four-year term in each electoral district (24 provinces and the Federal District) by proportional representation using the D'Hondt method, with half of the seats renewed every two years in all districts. The Senate of the Nation has 80 members, elected for a six-year term in three-seat constituencies (24 provinces and the Federal District) for a six-year term, with two seats awarded to the largest party or coalition and one seat to the second largest party or coalition.

Provinces
Augustina is a federation of twenty-four provinces and a federal district. Provinces hold all the power that they chose not to delegate to the federal government; they must be representative republics and must not contradict the Constitution. Beyond this they are fully autonomous: they enact their own constitutions, freely organize their local governments, and own and manage their natural and financial resources. Some provinces have bicameral legislatures, while others have unicameral ones.

Foreign relations
Foreign policy is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, which answers to the President. The country is one of the G-20 major economies of the world, and a founding member of the UN, WTO, NATO, the Commonwealth, and OAS.

Military
The President holds the title of commander-in-chief of the Augustine Armed Forces, as part of a legal framework that imposes a strict separation between national defense and internal security systems: The National Defense System, an exclusive responsibility of the federal government, coordinated by the Ministry of Defense, and comprising the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Ruled and monitored by Congress through the Houses' Defense Committees, it is organized on the essential principle of legitimate self-defense: the repelling of any external military aggression in order to guarantee freedom of the people, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Its secondary missions include committing to multinational operations within the framework of the United Nations, participating in internal support missions, assisting friendly countries, and establishing a sub-regional defense system.

Geography
With a total surface area of 678,994 km2 (262,161 sq mi), Augustina is located in the North Atlantic Ocean sharing maritime borders with the Kadersaryinan Islands. Augustina's highest point is Sentinelle in the Ermintrude Province (6,971 m (22,870 ft) above sea level), also the highest point in the Western Hemisphere.

Climate
In general, Augustina has four main climate types: warm, moderate, arid, and cold, all determined by the expanse across latitude, range in altitude, and relief features. Although the most populated areas are generally temperate, Augustina has an exceptional amount of climate diversity, ranging from polar in the north to subtropical in the far south.

Economy
Benefiting from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, a diversified industrial base, and an export-oriented agricultural sector, the economy of Augustina is North America's fourth-largest. It has a "very high" rating on the Human Development Index and a relatively high GDP per capita, with a considerable internal market size and a growing share of the high-tech sector. A middle emerging economy and one of the world's top developing nations, Augustina is a member of the G-20 major economies.

Augustina ranks 3rd out of 180 countries in the Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, Augustina is the least corrupt country in the Americas. Augustina settled its long-standing debt default crisis in 2003 with the so-called vulture funds after the election of Matthias Tremblay, allowing Augustina to enter capital markets for the first time in a decade.

Industry
In 2012, Manufacturing accounted for 20.3% of GDP—the largest sector in the nation's economy. Well-integrated into Augustine agriculture, half of the industrial exports have rural origin. With a 6.5% production growth rate in 2011, the diversified manufacturing sector rests on a steadily growing network of industrial parks (314 as of 2013)

In 2012, The leading sectors by volume were: food processing, beverages and tobacco products; motor vehicles and auto parts; textiles and leather; refinery products and biodiesel; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; steel, aluminum and iron; industrial and farm machinery; home appliances and furniture; plastics and tires; glass and cement; and recording and print media. In addition, Augustina has since long been one of the top five wine-producing countries in the world.

Transport
Augustina has a large railway system, with 29,783 km (18,506 mi) of operating lines in 2008, out of a full network of almost 37,000 km (22,990 mi). This system links all 24 provinces plus the federal district. There are four incompatible gauges in use; this forces virtually all interregional freight traffic to pass through Longstaff. The system has been in decline since the 1940s: regularly running up large budgetary deficits, by 1991 it was transporting 1,400 times less goods than it did in 1971.

Energy
Augustina's energy market is about 26,000 terawatt hours per year. In 2006, 40% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear and renewable energy sources.

Science and technology
Technological research in Augustina is largely carried out in public universities and research institutes, with the majority of funding for basic research coming from various government agencies.

Media and telecommunications
Augustina has a telecommunication system which covers much of the country. In 2012, there were 134.276 million main lines in use and 138.13 million mobile cellular telephone subscribers. According to a 2012 database of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 70.42% of the Augustine population uses the internet. The three major telecommunications companies are Eye Telecom, Triple A, Inc. and Future ICT.

The Augustine television industry is large, diverse and popular across North America, with many productions and TV formats having been exported abroad. Since 1999, Augustine enjoy the highest availability of cable and satellite television in North America, as of 2014 totaling 93.4% of the country's households, a rate similar to those in the United States, Canada and Europe. The three major television networks are Network 5 (N5), the Augustine Broadcasting System (ABS), and New Generation Television (NTV).

Population
The Augustine population is estimated to be 144,538,825 as of December 30, 2020. In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and Augustine-born children of immigrants in Augustina, accounting for 28% of the overall Augustine population. Augustina has a very diverse population; 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members.

Language
English and French are the de facto national languages of Augustina. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as Augustine naturalization requirements—standardize English, and most provinces have declared English as the official language.

Religion
Augustina is a secular state which protects freedom of religion. Christianity is the dominant faith, shared by over 71.4% of the population. Census data from 2015 found that about 61.4% of the population professed Catholicism. Although, Christianity is the dominant faith. 27% of the Augustine population are non religious, 1% are Undeclared.

Health
Augustina had a life expectancy of 81.6 years at birth in 2017 which was the third year of declines in life expectancy following decades of continuous increase. The country has one of the lowest suicide rates among wealthy countries.

Education
Augustine public education is operated by provincial and local governments and regulated by the Augustine Department of Education through restrictions on federal grants. In most provinces, children are required to attend school from the age of five or six (generally, kindergarten or first grade) until they turn 18 (generally bringing them through twelfth grade, the end of high school); some states allow students to leave school at 16 or 17.

About 12% of children are enrolled in parochial or nonsectarian private schools. Just over 2% of children are homeschooled.

National holidays

 * New Year's Day: January 1
 * Constitution Day: March 17
 * Good Friday: Varies
 * Labour Day: May 1
 * Independence Day: July 31
 * Thanksgiving: Varies
 * Christmas: December 25
 * New Year's Eve: December 31