Shakar
The Province of Shakar (Packilvanian: LuDominimne aluShakar) is the largest province in Packilvania by area and the smallest by population. It borders Jumhurikesh to the northeast, Ukanar to the southwest, Kharyat to the south, and Ashura to the southeast. Some estimates suggests that it comprises 20% to 25% of the country’s land area despite comprise 4% to 6% of the population. Thus, with an area of over 1.2 million km², it is one of the largest administrative subdivisions by land area. It has a total population of approximately 86.23 million people. It has a fairly low population density of approximately 80 to 90 people per square kilometer however most of them are concentrated in cities likes Sharkol, the capital.
Shakar
LuDominmne aluShakar | |
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Province | |
| Province of Shakar | |
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Shakar has one of the lower GDPs in Packilvania, about 700 billion KRB, yet it compares favourably with most nations in the world. After Ashura, Shakar has the largest petroleum, and gas reserves in the world. As such it has one of the highest GDP per capitas in Packilvania, over 8,000 KRB. Furthermore it contains the largest deposits of lithium and potash and other minerals in the world. Despite having the lowest population, it also has the top 2 highest carbon emissions in Packilvania after Fidakar due to its high output and reliance on fossil fuels. As with all other Packilvanian provinces, Shakar's predominant religion is Paxism yet small bands of folk religions are practiced syncretically by nomadic desert tribes.
Shakar contains the Packilvanian Cold Desert and a third of the Packilvanian Hot Desert, the former being one of the largest in the world. As a result, Shakar is the hottest and coldest place in the country. Shakar has an incredibly long geological history. It has the highest amount of fossilized dinosaur finds in the country. According to archeologists, it was once an inland sea then a lush rainforest. During the periods of Ice Ages and its movement northward, it desertified. Thus, the province relies on water from aquafirs that was captured during this period underground that rises in the form of oases.
Geography, climate and biodiversity
Shakar is bordered by Musetszna to the north, Jumhurikesh and Ashura to the east, Ukanar and Kharyat to the south and Mekedesh to the southeast. It is the largest province by surface area in the country followed by Jumhurikesh. It is dominated by cold desert in the north, the hot desert in the south and the Shakar Mountains in the interior. The cold desert in the north has the second-lowest recorded temperature in the country at -10°C following - -20°C in the Jumhur Mountains. The second-hottest recorded temperature in the country is in the Shakar hot desert at approximately 49°C. The province receives less than 10mm of rain every year and it typically only rains sporadically.
The province has several oases in the south around which most of the province's population is concentrated. The province has significant reserves of fossil fuels, rare earth and ferrous metals, and precious and semi-precious stones. The province has 1% agricultural land, most of which is cultivated for wine grape production and around 3% of the land serves as pastoral land for agriculture. Most of the arable land is concentrated in the far south which is separated from the hit desert by the Tumarid Highlands. Although Shakar is often seen as lacking biodiversity, it has the largest concentration of endemic succulent plant species in the country. There are many species of antelope, desert foxes, jackals, vultures, hyenas, meerkats, mongoose, aardvarks, rattlesnakes, puff adders, rock lizards and other animals. The province suffers from water stress, dust and sand storms during the Harmattan season, and frequent droughts.
Politics and government
The Province of Shakar is governed by Governor Tubida who was appointed by Sultan Thumim V in his capacity as the Regent and Crown Prince of Packilvania in 2022 following the resignation of Prince Sajahal. As the other provinces of Packilvania, the Governor appoints the Premier and the Provincial Council of Ministers which executes and proposes legislation. The power to make laws over issues shared with or granted exclusively to the province lies with the Provincial Legislative Council and the Provincial Consultative Council. Shakar has the fewest number of municipalities which have received a clean audit from the Office of Financial Discipline. It has the largest amount of government income and resources lost to misexpenditure (corruption and waste) at around 21% of its budget.
Law and order in the province remains relatively small and the province has a below average level of organised crime although illegal intimate relations remain the highest in the country and it is the largest exporter of intoxicating substances in the country due to its high production of poppy plants. The province has the lowest tax collection in the country with only 5% of the population paying income taxes. It has the highest dependence on transfers from the Imperial government at around 50% of its annual budget with the rest coming from fossil fuel royalties.
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 7% to 15%.
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.
Rail infrastructure is concentrated toward the transport of minerals and fossil fuels. The province is the origin of the highest-volume pipelines in the country. The Sharkol International Airport is the largest airport in the province.
Demographics
The province has the highest population of Akuanists, most of whom are concentrated in the Tumarid Highlands wine-growing region, at 2% of the population. Shakar is the least densely populated province on average, although 60% of its population is concentrated in the far south on in the Southern Oasis Belt and the Tumarid Highlands. The rest of the population is disbursed in mining towns or living nomadic lifestyles in the deserts. The population has the highest fertility rate in the country at 5.6 children per woman. The population has the highest instance of underage marriages at 4.5% of marriages and the Shakar government has not introduced regulations banning the practice. The population has the highest infant mortality rate in the country at 4.5 births per 1,000 births, the highest rate of mother to child immune deficiency viral transmissions and the lowest life expectancy in the country at 65 years of age.
It has the highest proportion of people who rely on government subsidies and grants in the country at around 55%. It has the lowest doctor to 1,000 people ratio in the country at 2 doctors per 1,000 people, giving rise to the most overcrowded and underresourced hospitals in the country. Shakar has by far the lowest literacy rate in the country, at around 60% of the population. The Shakarian population has the highest concentration of speakers of non-standard variants and dialects of the Packilvanian language at over 3,400 estimated dialects and variants. It has by far the lowest concentration of high speed trains to due its relatively small affluent and urban population.
Sharkol, Seerahel and Lehasa are the largest cities in the province by population. 70% to 80% of the population reside in rural areas as nomads or in villages. Over 35% of the population rely on pit latrines and it is estimated that the province has on average 1 tap per 4 families. Many in the rural areas rely on water from boreholes and wells. Over 60% of the population lack regular refuse removal services.