Shakar: Difference between revisions
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== Economy and infrastructure ==
Most of the population of Shakar subsists on animal husbandry and reside in rural areas through sedentary settlements or nomadic tribes. As such, over 45% of the Shakar population live below the national poverty line. However the number of people living over the international poverty line is negligible. Unemployment figures for Shakar are very difficult to ascertain as most of the population is involved in the informal economy which is believed to comprise over 35% of the economy. The province has the lowest labour participation rate especially among women in the country and unemployment is estimated to hover around 20% to 30% of able-bodied work-seeking adults. The province has the highest reliance on remittances from family members working in other parts of the country, at about
Shakar is highly dependent on fossil fuels which comprise 40% of the economy and 60% of exports. The provincial government relies on 45% of its annual budget on royalties from fossil fuels as such the government budget can suffer from fluctuations and makes it difficult to finance the extensive social grants that it pays out to its large population. A further 60% of its economy relies on mineral extraction and 80% of the exports consist of mineral exports. Shakar has not yet implemented a minimum wage unlike other provinces and it has very few labour protection laws. It does has a flourishing wine production industry that is concentrated in the valleys of the Tumarid Highlands and is disproportionately controlled by the Akuanist minority giving rise to Akuanists controlling over 10% of the economic output despite comprising only 2% of the population. Other than wine, the province is arguably the largest producer of poppy plants in the world and subsequently the largest producer of poppy-based intoxicants which the government is struggling to tackle.
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