Athiva

Athiva, officially the Archontia of Athiva (Athivan: Αρχοντία τῆς Αθήβα), is an island country located off the coast of Sarpedon in the Istroyan Sea, consisting of the island Kleftos. It lies 450 km east of Aciria, with its closest point 173 km off of the coast of mainland Sarpedon. While its only official languages are Athivan and Istroyan, approximately ten percent of its population also speaks Acirian at least on a conversational level. Its capital and largest city is Kleftopolis.

Inhabited since at least 8300 BC, the island eventually gave rise to the ancient Athivan civilisation, which the modern state derives its name from. The civilisation's location on an island meant an eventual lack of resources, which in turn encouraged Athivans to acquire them from the mainland, giving rise to the highly-developed military culture that the Athivans were known for. During the Second Great War, a military coup lead by General Alkios Demethanos took over the government, leading the country until the Athivan Revolution in the late 60s. The Athivan Revolution then lead to the liberation of Athiva, giving rise to the Archontia of Athiva in 1969, which rules the country to this day.

A popular tourism spot, the Athivan economy has begun to grow with the rising service sector to accompany the otherwise agriculture dependent nation.

Antiquity
Little is known of the pre-Istroyan people that inhabited the island, but it's thought that Istroyans colonised the island roughly around the same period as the other islands in the region, such as Herciana, 18th or 17th century BC. The multiple colonies established on the island eventually began to fight over the limited resources on the island, with the polis of Athiva eventually rising above the others due to the sophisticated military culture they'd have developed. The unification of the island meant a time of relative peace, but the limited resources still meant disgruntled peasantry. The Archon of Athiva decided to take advantage of the infighting between the Sarpic tribes on the mainland, leading a small, elite army of 300 men to the mainland to seize coastal settlements for Athivan use. The great success of the campaigns not only boosted the Archons popularity, but the economy and wealth of the Archontia. The Athivan military campaigns were limited to seizing and raiding coastal settlements until around 950 BC, when Athivan artifacts are discovered further inland. While many theories exist for what might've been the motivation for the Archon to push inland, it's generally accepted that the expansion wasn't caused by economic interests. It was during the further inland expansion when the Athivan relations with the neighbouring Messisorians began declining, with their interests clashing on the mainland. Initially allies and trade partners, the two had a divide following the Massacre of Hagenos, where Athivan historians wrote of a settler village being raided by Messisorian soldiers, mistaking it for a Sarpic one. The declining relations eventually culminated in the brief but bloody Pikralic War, which was followed by an uneasy peace between the two due to the mass migrations of Sarpic peoples coming from the west, presumably due to Caphirian expansion.

Second Great War
Athiva, then known as the Republic of Athiva, was ruled by a fairly successful democracy which had ruled since 1883. Staying neutral throughout the First Great War to focus on the development of its infrastructure and economy, President Empastiro who was in office during the years leading up to the Second Great War and its initial years was interested in joining the war to curry favour with the winning side. Described as a nationalist and an idealist, Empastiro had ignored how damaging the war would be to the nation economically and demographically, especially with its military equipment consisting mostly of outdated weapons from the First Great War. The military eventually found out about Empastiro's ambitions, and staged a coup to overthrow the President. General Demethanos, already a popular figure with the people, assumed a leadership position in the nation, declaring that the military intends to only hold power for the duration of the Second Great War, holding free elections after the end of the conflict to ensure no foreign influence in the election.

Demethanos then passed in 1951, with his second in command, Myriolio assumed office, but after the end of the war, refused to give up power, claiming it to be in interest of the people due to foreign influence in the nation being widespread. While the reign of Demethanos is remembered rather fondly by the people, Myriolio never won the hearts of the people, despite his efforts of creating a cult of personality.

1967 coup and Acirian intervention
On June 8 1967, the Athivan Revolutionary Front seized power from the military junta which had lead the country since 1934. Following the coup, the name of the island country was changed to the People's Republic of Athíva, and began preparing the country for self-sufficiency. The leaders of the newly established People's Republic imprisoned and executed all leading figures of the former military junta, and eventually began to imprison and execute anyone with ties to the military junta.

Following the Athívan imprisonment and execution of Acirian ambassador to Athiva Viceri Battanari, the Emperor of Aciria declared the People's Republic a rogue state and dispatched two Imperial Guard battalions to spearhead the liberation of Athiva. The Imperial Guard battalions and the accompanying companies quickly seized the capital, but the Athivan resistance continued until 1969 when the last leading figures of the People's Republic were captured. Close friend of the Emperor of Aciria, Spiraklis Anastrotsis was appointed as the Archon of the new Archontia of Athiva, and both their constitution and legislature was recreated, basing it on the Acirian constitution and legislature.

Geography
The country consists of one island, Kleftos, named after the ancient Istroyans who thought the natural beauty of the island could only have been stolen from the Gods.

Climate
The island shares the tropical climate with most of the Istroyan islands off the coast of Sarpedon. The only exception is the northeast of the island, where the Moktos mountains give a small portion of the island a more arid climate.

Demographics
According to the Bureau of International Statistics and Records, ethnic Athivans made up 73% of the island's population, with the largest minority being X% [insert ethnicity], and the remaining populations consisting mainly of [insert ethnicity] and Daxian workers who've had their passports taken by the state. The last population census taken by the Military Junta in 1965 shows that ethnic Athivans made up 86% of the nations population, with the largest minority then being Asteklians.The authenticity of the statistics provided by the military junta are often questioned, particularly citing the census seeming to ignore the Athivan migration out of the country during the rule of Myriolio.

The rising tourism industry has also brought many non-nationals into the country as permanent residents.

Languages
The most widespread language spoken in Athiva is Athivan, a dialect of Istroyan that's often considered a separate language due to difficulty of communication with mainland Istroyan. Mainland Istroyan has also been taught in schools since 1923, referred to as "Literature Istroyan" by the education system. The only language spoken to a notable extent in the country is Acirian, which has seen a drastic rise in use following the Acirian intervention in the 60s and the following Acirian influence in the nation.

Economy
The Athivan economy is a capitalist, primarily service-based economy, based on extensive entrepôt trade, Athiva is an established global logistical and financial centre. It is known to be the world’s freest, easiest to do business in, most competitive and most innovative economy worldwide, characterized by low corporate taxation and minimal government intervention. Although it has consistently ranked high in economic freedoms, the nation also has a high level of income disparity.

From 1972 to 2005, the Athiva economy grew by an average of over 7% annually. Today, it is highly developed]. It attracts a large amount of foreign investment, as well as indirect influence, as a result of its location, economic freedoms, low taxation, and global trade connections. Athiva is party to a variety of free-trade agreements, and has one of the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves.

The tertiary sector comprises a major proportion of the nation’s economy, with banking, finance and shipping as its primary components. It is the 7th largest trading entity measured by imports and exports, trading an amount of goods worth more than its total GDP. The nation’s Admiralty Stock Exchange is among the largest in the world by market capitalization, at $5.9 trillion as of Q1 of 2037. Its major banks, Dominion Bank, Chartered Bank and Standard Bank, are among the largest in the world, and have been ranked as the 3rd, 4th, and 6th most stable and strongest banks respectively. Athiva also maintains a small secondary sector; focused on the manufacturing of electronics and the refining of oil.

The nation’s currency, the Athiva dollar, is pegged at a ratio of 5.1 to 1 with the Caphirian Aureus. Notes are issued by one of three banks, Chartered Bank, Dominion Bank, and Standard Bank, each of which has to deposit an equivalent sum in Aureus’ with the central bank when issuing currency. This ensures that the dollar is backed by one of the largest foreign reserves in the world, guaranteeing a stable exchange rate.

Income, poverty and wealth
Although with the 4th highest GDP per capita, Athiva continues to have one of the world’s lowest rates of income mobility and the highest rates of wealth inequality, with a Gini coefficient of 48.2. With the exception of healthcare services, a majority of the nation’s welfare programs have gone underfunded in recent years, exacerbating these issues.

According to the national census, after years of growth, median household income has reached an all-time high, although income inequality has as well. Wealth remains tightly concentrated; with just 10% of the population possessing over 80% of the nation’s household wealth. As maintained by the Central Bank, the top 1% of income earners continue to control 41.2% of the nation’s wealth, with the number growing as Athiva continues to develop as a tax haven.

Housing
With high amounts of investment into Athivan property, real estate values have risen sharply since 2000. Exacerbated by limits of land area and the limited number of public housing units available, the city-state today has a remarkably low rate of home ownership. Over 67% of the nation’s housing stock comprises private permanent housing, with only 10% and 23% being subsidized or public housing, respectively. As private housing is primarily purchased as an investment by higher income groups, housing for the average Athivan accounts for over 41% of household expenditure. This has led rise to the term sandwich class, referring to a middle-class income group which does not qualify for public assistance, yet is not able to afford private residences.

According to the office of the Auditor-General, this can be primarily traced back to the government’s lack of recent interference in the economy. During a wave of immigration in the 1960s and 70s, the nation constructed large amounts of public housing. By 1989, over half of the housing stock was public or subsidized. However, in recent years, there has been a lack of political will for the construction of new developments, which may be due to the increasing influence of foreign and local elites within Athivan politics.