Social: Torrike

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Social Overview

With a population of around 7.5 million, Torrike is, to all intents and purposes, a small country on the periphery of Europe, but that is not how they see themselves. Even though they are well educated, sophisticated and prosperous, there is a sense of grievance that is subtly fed by the regime; this had led to sporadic incidents of violence against non-Torrikans. Unemployment is low and GDP per capita at $41,342 is high. Over the last 50 years a technocratic and homogeneous society has developed, one that is used to success and which is looking to build on that success. Engineering and associated industries are held in high regard and Torrikans see themselves as prospective leaders in many fields.

The crime rate is low. There are fines or other penalties for a wide range of transgressions, such as throwing litter on the floor, urinating in public, and engaging in politics outside registered political parties.

Social welfare is financed through the Greater Torrike Visionary Fund (GTVF), a public savings scheme. Employees under age 55 and their employers contribute a fixed amount of a worker’s salary into an individual account administered by the GTVF. This account provides financial security for old age and can be drawn on for housing, medical and educational costs. Charity is an important aspect of the financing of social welfare. Care of the old, sick, and disabled is a responsibility usually taken on by the families and relatives. Independent social work units carry out some social work.

Political Context

The Torrikan populace has a strong nationalist identity, but one which is very much rooted within the traditions of the Skolkan Empire and the glories of the past. Although the concept of a Torrike-led empire is not a subject of everyday conversation, for the most part, the sentiment is an integral part of how Torrikans see themselves. It also influences their views of their near neighbors, not merely Arnland, Framland and Bothnia, but also Norway and the Baltic states. There is a widespread belief that the former Skolkan empire and Torrike are the natural identity for the region. Furthermore, they believe deliberate efforts to mislead their fellow “countrymen” by unscrupulous (foreign) politicians has prevented a resurgent Torrike empire. This underlying myth is taught from the earliest age and heavily promoted by the political establishment. Access to alternative worldviews via the internet and other global media has had little impact on altering this widespread belief. As a result, Torrikans have a highly skeptical view of the value of international political structures such as the European Union (EU), or North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), both of which are widely seen as conspiracies designed to prevent Torrike from founding a new empire, assuming its rightful place in the region and ultimately the world.

Social Statistics

Torrikan Social Statistics

Measure	Data	Remarks (if applicable)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)	USD317.6 billion (2017 est)	USD $310.14 billion (2015 est.); GDP per capital USD $41,147 (2015 est.); GDP growth 2.13% (2015 est.); -1.08% (2015 est.).
Labor Force	USD $5.05 million (2017)	Significant domestic labor shortage. Men’s rate is 79%; women’s rate is 51%. Foreign workers are 7% of the total workforce.
Unemployment	8.5% (2017)	Down from 9.3% in 2015
Poverty	No data available
Investment	No data available
National Budget	USD $191.41 billion	(See Economic variable)
Public Debt	No data available
Inflation	No data available

Population Movement (Migration and Immigration)

There are no official restrictions on the internal movement of the population. However, a shortage of housing and difficulties related to switching jobs has prevented large‐ scale internal migration. Movement has taken place primarily within county boundaries, and residents have gone from rural areas and small urban centers to medium and large sized municipalities. In 2015, for example, about 16 persons per 1,000 inhabitants moved across county boundaries.

Immigration

During the 1950s and 1960s, the recruitment of foreign labor was an important factor of immigration. The Gulf of Bothnia countries signed a trade agreement in 1952, establishing a common labor market and free movement across borders. This migration within the region, especially from Otso and Arnland, was essential to create the tax‐base required for the expansion of the strong public sector now characteristic of Torrike. This continued until 1967, when the labor market became saturated, and Torrike introduced new immigration controls.

Torrike’s government imposes strict controls on immigration, granting temporary residence permits only to those whose labor or skills are considered essential to the economy. Most workers are expected to return to their homelands when their contracts expire or economic downturns make their labor redundant. Illegal immigrants and Torrikans who employ them are subject to fines or imprisonment. To date, the immigrants of the 2000s have fallen into two categories. The first category, unskilled labor force for factories and service positions, is composed largely of young unmarried people from Otso, Framland, and Arnland. Regulations prohibited their marrying without prior official permission and require women to be tested for pregnancy every six months – measures intended to make it difficult for them to attain Torrikan residency of citizenship by becoming a spouse or parent of a citizen. The second category comprises skilled workers, professionals, and managers, often working for multinational corporations. They come from Bothnia, Donovia, Western Europe, and North America. Predominately middle‐aged and often accompanied by their families, they are immigrants only in the strict sense of the government’s population registration and have no intention of settling permanently in Torrike.

The 2015 census reported that 9% of Torrike’s population were not citizens. The aliens were divided into permanent residents (3.6% of the population) and non‐residents (5.5% of the population). The acquisition of Torrikan citizenship is a complex and often a protracted process that begins with application to the Immigration Department for Permanent Residence (PR) status. After residing in Torrike for two to ten years, depending on skills and professional qualifications, those with permanent resident status could apply to the Registry of Citizens for citizenship. In 2015, citizenship was granted to 4,607 applicants and denied to 1,603 applicants. Torrike’s government, keenly aware of the country’s need to survive by selling the skills of its citizens in a competitive international marketplace, is determined not to permit the state to be overwhelmed by large numbers of unskilled rural immigrants.

Emigration

In the 19th century, Skolkan’s yearly population growth rate peaked at 1.2%, compared to the less than 1% in Torrike today. This considerable population growth rate led, before the Industrial Revolution, to pauperization of the rural population, for each generation inherited smaller and smaller shares of land. Due to years of crop failures in the 1840s and 1860s, the U.S. Homestead Act of 1862, and to a lesser extent religious persecution, emigration started and grew. Between 1850 and 1930, 328,000 Torrikans emigrated, chiefly to Canada, U.S. and to Denmark. A large number of the emigrants were university-educated professionals, precisely the category that Torrike wished to keep and attract. In 1989, government policies were put in place to discourage emigration by professionals and managers.

In the 1960s, a number of emigrants that had left their families made a return to Torrike from the U.S. The re‐migration of Torrikan nationals from the U.S. was culturally more important than the absolute figures reveal. The re‐migrants often resettled in their native parish, where their relative wealth and foreign experience made them popular within their local community. However, many Torrikan officials did not see the re‐migrant population as favorably. Fear of Western influence and the loss of their Skolkan identity troubled Torrikan leaders. Fortunately, for them, the re‐migrants amounted to nothing more than local heroes with grand stories of America.

Population Distribution

The majority of Torrike’s population, small in relation to its land area, live in the southern third of the country, and most people live in towns or cities.

Torrike entered a demographic window of opportunity in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the baby boom cohort reached working age, and drastically lowered their fertility levels. The demographic window produced a demographic dividend which aided the dramatic economic development of the State. The next twenty to thirty years will see an increase in the old age dependency ratio and a closing of this demographic window of opportunity. The task of the Government is to put in place appropriate policies to counter this imminent change in the population age structure. A high old age dependency ratio may result in a decrease in economic productivity if appropriate policies do not exist to maintain the status quo.

Older Torrikans, aged 65 and above, make up about 9% of the population and by the year 2030, they are expected to make up 20% of the population. The oldest‐old population (85 years and above) is experiencing the fastest growth at 6.1% per year. As a result of improvements in sanitation, medical technology, and public health awareness, life expectancy has risen in Torrike.

Rural

Through the course of the 19th Century, land reforms gradually dissolved village communities, consolidating farmland, divided commons, and dispersed farms. The reforms favored modernization of agriculture. Settlements grew up along seacoasts and lakeshores, and inland towns arose as markets in agricultural and mining areas. In the country and in suburban communities, houses are often painted a traditional red made from material produced since the 1700s at the copper mine in Falun. Norrland is thinly populated, with more than 25% of the area having no permanent settlement.

Numerous vacation homes dot the coast and mountains. Castles and manors from the 16th‐18th centuries are located in the south and around Lake Mälaren.

The Arctic is an enormous area, sprawling over one sixth of the earth's landmass; twenty‐four time zones and more than 30 million km2. The Arctic is inhabited by some 4 million people, including more than 30 indigenous peoples of which the Sami are resident in Torrike.

Urban

Torrike has an urban population in 2017 of 5,891,339 (77%) (5,475,780 (73%) in 2015), by 2022; this will have increased by 219,500. This expansion, often occurring in a scattered way throughout countryside, is called urban sprawl.

Urban growth in Torrike has followed industrialization. Locations of new urban sites were strongly influenced by the development of the railway network and by the exploitation of the natural resources of northern Torrike. At present, more than 80% of the population lives in urban centers. Until 1970, no more than 10% of the population were urban.

The vast majority of the people live in the southern counties and along the coast north of the capital city of Tyr. Bought through the HDB, the average living space is relatively large, with each person having some 470 square feet (44 square meters) of space. The cities are generally noted for their efficient planning and lack of slums.

The country is renowned for its urban planning. Through most of the twentieth century, close cooperation between municipalities and private firms was the usual for urban planning. One goal was to design vibrant neighborhoods, complete with schools, workplaces, community buildings, parks, health clinics, and shops. Traffic safety has been an ongoing preoccupation of planners, and that effort, combined with campaigns against drunk driving, has given the country the world’s lowest rate of traffic deaths.

Demographics

Despite being a homogeneous society, distinction within the ranks of the population is rather apparent. Economic status and education levels are found to be the main factors in distinguishing between the classes. Although a relatively small number compared to the overall population, immigrants dominate the lower rung of the social ladder. The number of immigrants within Torrike is typically linked to the levels of its labor force. Historically an agrarian society, industrialization and the drive for global competitiveness, has forced the shift to higher urbanization. Equal rights between men and women are a priority in Torrike, as exemplified in the significant numbers of women in the labor force. However, immigrants have not been able to fully benefit from the equality mindset.

Families are predominantly nuclear rather than extended. While the two‐parent household with children remains normative, the rate of single‐parent households is high. No industrialized nation has a higher frequency of one‐person households, which are particularly common among young adults in urban areas and among the elderly. Women are the chief providers of social support for the young and the aged. This burden has been mitigated as women’s unpaid work has been partially displaced by state‐supported professional child‐care and elder‐care services. Patriarchal family structures have declined as traditional patterns of male authority and female economic dependency have been supplanted by a reliance on communal institutions.

Category	Statistic	Category	Statistic
Population	7.5 Million	Urban population Annual urbanization rate	77% No Data Available
Age distribution (%)	No Data Available	Infant mortality rate	No Data Available
Median age	No Data Available	Life expectancy at birth in years	No Data Available
Population Growth rate	No Data Available	Ethnic groups (%)	Torrikan: 91% Arns: 5.7% Framlanders: 3.2% Other 0.1%
Birth rate per 1,000	No Data Available	Religions in OE (%)	62% Protestant 37.2% Unaffiliated 0.8% Wiccan
Death rate per 1,000	7.1	Languages	Torrikan Numerous Regional (Arnish, Framish) English
Net Migration rate per 1,000	16	Literacy rate (older than 15)	No Data Available

Population

The population, which has seen only an annual growth rate of less than 1% over the past decade. Population structure and dynamics in Torrike have been seriously affected by historical and political developments. Most people live in medium‐ sized towns of 5,000 to 50,000 residents.

In 1986, the government decided to revamp its family planning program to reflect its identification of the low birth rate as one of the country’s most serious problems. The old family planning slogan of “Stop at Two” was replaced by “Have Three or More, if You Can Afford It.” A new package of incentives for large families reversed the earlier incentives for small families. It includes tax rebates for third children, priority in school enrollment for children from large families, priority in assignment of large families to HDB apartments, extended sick leave for civil servants to look after sick children and up to four years unpaid maternity leave for civil servants. The low birth rate is also a reflection of late marriages. In response, the Social Development Unit extended its matchmaking activities to those holding Advanced level (A‐level) secondary education qualifications as well as to unmarried university graduates.

Marriage rates have fluctuated over the years but, like birth rates, generally declined after reaching a peak of 11.7 marriages per 1,000 population in 1970. The numbers of marriages reflect changes in the sex ratio and the small proportion of the population that fell in the marriageable age bracket.

Torrikans practice open‐ended marriages, meaning there are few legal restrictions as long as the person marries someone of the opposite sex and of legal age. In actuality, however, there are many social pressures that influence the decisions of whom one should get involved with, particularly in terms of class and racial distinctions. As a result, endogamy is the expected and predominant practice. The ideal is generally to marry somebody of equal class, ro at least of the same racial status; the opposite, although not completely rare, is seen as going against the norm.

The selection of romantic, sexual, and conjugal partners is a matter of individual choice. A prospective mate’s personal character and appearance are important criteria, while family approval is not. Marrying for money and security is rare; the general welfare society frees individuals to base marriage on affection, not economic need.

Public school inaugurated modern sex education in 1955. Today free or subsidized contraception allows women to postpone or limit childbearing. Abortion is permitted through the eighteenth week of pregnancy, but 93% of abortions are performed before the twelfth week. Roughly, one in four couples consists of unmarried partners. Such non‐marital cohabitation (called samboende, or “living with”) is socially accepted and since 1988 received nearly the same legal rights and responsibilities as marriage. Many samboende partners eventually do marry, particularly if a child is expected or has arrived, but illegitimacy is not stigmatized. If a couple does not specify a newborn’s surname, the child automatically receives the mother’s surname. The divorce rate has doubled in the last thirty years.

Torrike has made significant progress in reducing adult mortality over the past four decades. Adult mortality for Torrike’s men and women has fallen by about 64% and 68% respectively between 1970 and 2010. The decline in adult mortality over the last 40 years is credited to the progress in improved nutrition as the country developed economically, control of infectious diseases, access to health care advancements, disease prevention and health promotion.

The rate of death is 7.1 deaths/1,000 population. The number of deaths registered in 2015 was up 260 from the previous year. The greatest increase was among those aged 90 years (up 26%). The number of deaths is gradually increasing due to the population growth in the older age group, partly offset by longer life expectancy. The crude death rate is influenced by the age structure of the population, and therefore does not provide a true measure of the trends in mortality. For example, the crude death rate of the Opprinn population (4.2) is much lower than for the total population (7.1) in 2015. This lower rate is due to the much younger age structure of the Opprinn population.

Starting in recent years, the resident work force was a shrinking resource. The high rate of economic growth combined with an increasing number of Torrikans of the retirement age of 66 (nearly 12%) and a lower‐than‐replacement birth rate has resulted in a significant labor shortage. By the end of the century, the labor market is projected to be even tighter.

As of 2017, men’s rate of labor participation, at 79%, remained steady. Women, however, responding to job opportunities in the manufacturing and commercial sectors, were increasingly entering the labor market (24.6% in 1970 up to 51% in 2010).

Two groups comprise foreign non‐resident labor in Torrike. The majority are unskilled work‐permit holders who can only enter and work in the country if their prospective employers apply for work permits for them. Skilled workers and professionals on employment passes comprise the other group. By 2017, foreign workers comprised 7% of the total compared with 3% a decade earlier. 46% of foreign workers are in manufacturing, 20% in construction, and 9% in personal and household services.

Social Issues

Torrike’s government policies have always brought orderliness and efficiency to the country. Examples are supplanting slum and squatter areas with high‐rise public housing projects and strict controls on air and water pollution to ensure a healthier environment. While these policies draw few objections, other aspects of Torrike’s social engineering are occasionally considered extreme, such as one campaign that urged well‐educated couples to produce children. The government is committed to defining and promoting – either by law or through official campaigns – the appropriate public and private behavior of its citizens. Outsiders sometimes also consider Torrike’s criminal punishments severe. Torrike stresses, however, that its strict laws and sentences have made the nation one of the safest places in the world.

An influential social group that has a significant active membership nationwide is the People’s Association (PA) which was established as a statutory board on 1 August 1960 to promote harmony and social cohesion in Torrike. Their efforts are available through a network of over 1,800 grassroots organizations, community clubs, five Community Development Councils, a National Youth Council, the National Community Leadership Institute, Outward Bound Torrike, and Water Venture outlets. To achieve their mission in building and bridging communities to achieve one people, one Torrike, they initiate and offer a wide range of programs and services to cater to the need and interests of the Torrikans from all walks of life. Together with its grassroots organizations, PA continuously makes efforts to improve and achieve service excellence for the people of Torrike. On 31 March 31 2005, PA introduced a service pledge which highlights service values that are critical to the organization.

Due to its shared border with Arnland, the threat of terrorist attack is a matter of concern. Potential targets for terrorist attacks include commercial and public areas frequented by foreign citizens such as hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars, schools, markets, places of worship, outdoor recreation events, and tourist areas. Terrorists have also been known to target the premises and symbols associated with the Government of Torrike.

Economic segregation has seen greater variation over time than ethnic segregation. However, in the long term there is a clear trend towards increased economic segregation. For several years, there has been a clear connection between ethnic and economic segregation in the metropolitan areas. Recently, very poor neighborhoods mainly house underprivileged “visible” immigrant groups. In neighborhoods with almost exclusively visible minorities, barely 30% of working‐age residents earned their own living in the last couple of years. This means the remaining 70% were students, unemployed, early retirees, on sick leave or receiving social assistance.

A number of various opportunities are available for mutual self‐help and community bonding and/or volunteerism that can greatly improve the quality of lives of Torrikans. However, social ties are relatively weak in areas of Torrike and households tend to live in a self‐contained isolation from their neighbors.

International organizations with national chapters in Torrike include Greenpeace, Save the Children, Amnesty International and the Red Cross.

Education

13.2% of GDP is allocated to Education and all three tiers of education are free.

Education is highly valued in Torrike, and its education system is elaborately structured. The Ministry of Education controls and directs the education policy. The development and administration of state schools which receive government funding is part of the Ministry’s responsibilities along with being an advisory and supervisory role for private schools.

No one is denied an opportunity for education. The Ministry also partially funds Special Education (SPED) schools which are run by the Volunteer Welfare Organizations (VWO). Children with disabilities attend these schools.

Torrike has placed an essential emphasis on education. This can be seen from the fact that education spending forms at least 13.2% of the budget of Torrike. Primary education has become compulsory for all citizens and if parents fail to enroll their children into school, it is considered a criminal offense.

Educational Structure

Primary education is free and lasts from six to eight years. Students at the secondary level are placed into academic or vocational and commercial tracks. Those on academic tracks are further channeled into four‐ or five‐year courses of instruction. Opportunities for higher education are determined by academic performance and usually involve two or three years of pre‐university instruction followed by enrollment at a university or technical college. Tyr University, founded in 1816, is the largest and best‐known institute of higher learning.

The Desired Outcomes of Education (DOE) are attributes that educators aspire for every Torrikan to have by the completion of his or her formal education. These outcomes establish a common purpose for educators, drive policies and programs, and allow the MOE to determine how well the education system is doing.

The person who is schooled in the Torrikan Education system embodies the DOE. They have a good sense of self‐awareness, a sound moral compass, and the necessary skills and knowledge to take on challenges of the future. The student is responsible to their family, community, and nation. They appreciate the beauty of the world around them, possess a healthy mind and body, and have a zest for life.

The DOE are translated into a set of developmental outcomes for each key stage of the education system. The Key Stage Outcomes spell out what the Education Service aspires to develop in the student through Primary, Secondary, and Post‐Secondary education. Each educational level builds upon the previous stages and lays the foundation for subsequent ones.

Kindergarten

Kindergartens are schools that provide a structured 3‐year preschool education program for children aged 4 to 6. The 3‐year program consists of Nursery, Kindergarten 1, and Kindergarten 2. Kindergartens function daily, five days a week, with schooling hours ranging from 3 hours to 4 hours each day. Most kindergartens function at two sessions a day. The daily program of each level includes learning activities that develop language and literacy skills, basic number concepts, social skills, creative and problem solving skills, appreciation of music and movement and outdoor play. Kindergartens in Torrike are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, social organizations and business organizations. Under the Education Act, kindergartens are defined as private schools that have to be registered with the MOE. Child care centers also offer kindergarten programs to children aged 3 to 6. These child care centers are licensed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) instead of the MOE like typical kindergartens.

Primary School

Normally starting at age seven, Primary School is a four‐year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two‐year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is compulsory and free, though there is a fee up to 90 Tormark to help cover miscellaneous costs. The foundation stage is the first stage of formal schooling. The four years, from Primary 1 to 4, provide a foundation in English, Torrikan and Mathematics. Other subjects include Civics and Moral Education, arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies, and physical education, which are taught throughout Primary 1 to 6. Science is taught from Primary 3 onward. All pupils advance to the orientation stage after Primary 4, where English and Torrikan are taught at the appropriate level according to the pupil’s ability. Schools are given the flexibility to develop their own examinations to match pupils with the levels that suit them. At the end of Primary 6, the national Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE) is held. The examination determines whether the student is ready to leave primary school by passing; places in secondary schools are allocated according to students’ performance in the examination.

Secondary School

Based on the results of the PSLE, students are placed in different secondary education tracks or streams: “Special”, “Express”, “Normal (Academic)”, or “Normal (Technical)”. Special and Express are four‐year courses leading up to the Ordinary Level (O‐Level) examination. The difference is that Special stream students take higher Torrikan language classes. Normal is a four‐year course leading up to the Normal‐Level (N‐ Level) examination, with possibility of a fifth year followed by the O‐ Level exam. Normal is split into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). In Normal (Technical), students take subjects of a more technical nature, such as Design and Technology, while Normal (Academic) students prepare to take the O‐Level exam and normally take subjects as Principles of Accounting. Ongoing debates have been revolving around the psychological effect of streaming and whether the concept of streaming should be entirely stripped away.

Tertiary Education

Upon completion of the 4‐ or 5‐year secondary education, students will participate in the annual O‐Level exams, the results in which determine which pre‐university or post‐secondary institutions they may apply to. Pre‐university centers include junior colleges for two‐year courses leading up to the A‐Level exam, or the Millennia Institute for a three‐year course leading up to A‐Level. Both junior colleges and Millennia Institute accept students on merit, with greater emphasis on academics then professional technical education. The pre‐universities of Torrike are designed for upper‐stream students who wish to pursue a university degree after two to three years of pre‐university education, rather than stopping after the polytechnic post‐secondary education. Students who wish to pursue for a professional‐centered diploma education go on instead to post‐secondary institutes such as polytechnics and the Technical Education Institutes (TEI).

Junior colleges (JCs) are designed to offer an accelerated alternative to the traditional three‐year program, but the two‐year program they offer has become the norm for students pursuing university education. JCs have become synonymous with prestigious education.

Vocational Education

Polytechnics in Torrike provide 3‐year diploma courses and, they accept students based on their O‐level, A‐level or TEI results. A wide range of courses are offered in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communication, digital media, and biotechnology. They provide a more industry oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post‐secondary education. Graduates of polytechnics with good grades can continue to pursue further tertiary education at the universities. There are 4 such polytechnics in Torrike.

Students can also apply to the Technical Education Institutes (TEI). These institutions offer two-year programs leading to a locally recognized (National TEI certificate). A few TEI graduates continue their education at polytechnics and universities. TEI students are sometimes seen as being less capable and possibly less successful than their polytechnic or JC students.

After pre‐university or polytechnic education, students can choose to apply to the universities to pursue a variety of undergraduate, graduate, post graduate and doctoral programs. There are 16 Universities and two Private Tertiary Institutions which offer these degrees to students.

Military Education

The main uniform groups are National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), National Civil Defense Cadet Corps (NCDCC), Ambulance Brigade, Red Cross Youth, Torrike Scout Association, Girl Guides, the Boys Brigade and the Girls Brigade. Students are expected to learn drills and must wear the respective uniforms.

The function of these organized uniformed groups is to prepare male and female students for national service when they reach the age of 18. Memberships to these groups are on a strictly voluntary basis, but rigid requirements are in place to select the best suited candidates. Besides military drills, they also learn skills such as team‐bonding and first‐aid.

Religious Diversity

The Church of Torrike is the largest Christian church. It is an Evangelical Lutheran community of faith manifested in parishes and dioceses. Approximately 12% of the church’s baptized members regularly attend Sunday services. It is an open national church which, working with democratic organization and through ministry of the church, covers the whole nation.

The second largest group are those who do not affiliate with any religious belief. This is also the fastest growing group over the past two decades. In a recent survey, approximately 2,000 Torrikan inhabitants were asked the question, “What do you believe in?” 29% answered “I believe in a god or deity,” 23% answered “I believe in a higher power without being certain of what,” 26% answered “I don’t believe in God or higher powers,” and 22% answered “I am in doubt.” Still some 61% of the population are members of the Lutheran Church of Torrike. This may result from Torrikans being registered into the church at birth, yet having to intentionally unregister after becoming adults.

Torrike generally allows religious freedom, although religious groups are subject to government scrutiny, and some religious sects are restricted or banned. One particular group under scrutiny of the government and receiving some media attention are the Wiccans. Although not a significantly large population, Wiccans have encountered hostility from some politicians and Christian organizations.

Common Languages

The country is ethnically homogeneous, the dominant ethnicity being Torrikan people. The official language is Torrikan. Other Gulf of Bothnia languages, such as Framish and Arnish, can be heard in various parts of the country. Having been the center of the former Skolkan Empire, to Torrikans, the languages of its neighbors, in particular Framland and Arnland, are considered dialects of Torrikan. English is also spoken by most Torrikans as a second language as a result of language courses in school.

Torrike’s leaders resist such trends towards cosmopolitan culture, however, reiterating that Torrikans are Skolkan rather than Westerners and that abandoning their own traditions and values for the tinsel or international popular culture would result in being neither truly Western nor properly Skolkan. They believe the consequence would be a loss of identity, which in turn would lead to the dissolution of the society. The recommended policy for the retention of Skolkan identity involves an ideal division of labor by language. English is to function as a language of utility. The Skolkan “mother tongues” – Torrikan, Bothnian, Framish, and Sami – are languages of values, providing Torrikans with what political leaders and local academics commonly called “cultural ballast” or “moral compasses.” Stabilized and oriented by traditional Skolkan values, the Torrikans are able to select what is useful from the offerings of “Western” culture and to reject what is harmful. This theory of culture and identity resulted in the effort to teach the “mother tongues” in the schools and to use them as the vehicle for moral education.

In an extension of the effort to create a suitable national identity, in 1989 Torrike’s leaders called for a “national ideology” to prevent the harmful drift toward superficial Westernization. The nation ideology helps Torrikans develop a national identity and bond them together by finding and encouraging core values. Suggested core values include emphasizing community over self, valuing the family, resolving issues through the search for consensus rather than contention, and promoting racial and religious tolerance.

Human Rights / Universal Health Care

Fundamental rights and freedoms have always been of the utmost importance and continue to be accorded high priority in the Torrikan constitution. These fundamental rights and freedoms were incorporated into the constitution when the Constitution Law was adopted in 1931. Because the individual political parties represent very different basic values, Torrike has not yet succeeded in compiling a modern, comprehensive list of fundamental rights. Most of these rights apply not only to Torrikan citizens but also to foreigners and stateless persons, i.e. they are basic human rights. They include the inviolability of property, individual freedom, the right to fair trial, the right to privacy in the home, the privacy of correspondence, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of faith and conscience and the freedom of science and its teachings.

Within the context of international organizations, particularly the United Nations and the Council of Europe, Torrike tries to keep up an appearance of wholehearted participation in the further development of human rights. However, domestic practice shows a high degree of neglect in these questions. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights has been in force in Torrike since 1958; in 1964 it was incorporated entirely into the constitution. It contains, inter alia, the right to life, the prohibition of torture as well as of inhuman and humiliating punishment, the prohibition of forced labor, prohibition of the deportation of Torrikan citizens, the freedom to emigrate, respect of private and family life and the right to marry and have a family. Among the fundamental rights, special political significance is accorded to the protection of minorities.

Health Standards

An efficient and widespread system of health care is available. Torrike has a universal health care system where the government ensures affordability, largely through compulsory savings and price control, while the private sector provides most care. Torrike’s system uses a combination of compulsory savings from payroll deductions (funded by both employers and workers), a national health insurance plan, and government subsidies, as well as actively regulating the supply and prices of health care services in the country to keep cost in check. Many Torrikans also have supplemental private health insurance (often provided by employers) for services not covered by the government programs.

As indicated by their long life expectancy and low death rates, Torrikans generally enjoy good health. Standards of nutrition and environmental sanitation are high. The Vector Control and Research Department of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources is responsible for controlling mosquitoes, flies, rats, and other disease‐bearing animals. The Food Control Department inspect food producers and outlets for cleanliness and sanitation. The Public Affair Department of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources conducts educational campaigns on such topics as environmental sanitation, proper disposal of refuse, and food handling. Educational efforts are backed up by sanctions, which include fines up to USD $500 for spitting or failing to flush public toilets.

The major causes of death in 2017 were heart disease, accounting for 24% of all deaths; cancer, 23%; cerebrovascular disease (stroke), 11%; and pneumonia, 8%.

Noise induced deafness and industrial‐related skin disease are the major occupational diseases. There is also some concern over exposure of workers to toxic and carcinogenic substances and to asbestos.

Air pollution, mainly by fine particles and ground level ozone, continues to pose a significant threat to health: it shortens average life expectancy in most industrial countries, however Torrike with a light industrial service based economy has better air. Torrike maintains high standards for safe drinking water along with most GBCC countries.

Primary and Secondary Care

Torrike’s well‐established health care system comprises a total of 12 private hospitals, eight public (government) hospitals and several specialist clinics, each specializing in and catering to different patient needs, at varying costs. Patients are free to choose the providers within the government or private health care delivery system and can walk in for a consultation at any private clinic or any government polyclinic. For emergency services, patients can go at any time to the 24‐hour Accident & Emergency (A&E) Departments located in the government hospitals. Torrike’s medical facilities are among the finest in the world, with well qualified doctors and dentists, many of which received their training overseas.

Patients warded in B2 and C class wards in public hospitals are means‐tested to determine the level of subsidy they will be entitled. Patient subsidy is based on the average monthly income received over the last 12‐month period including bonuses for salaried employees. Services such as Day surgery, A&E services, Specialist Outpatient and polyclinic visits will not be means‐tested and standard subsidies rate applied to citizens and PRs as usual. People with no income, such as retirees or housewives, will have their subsidy rate capped to the value of their homes. All unemployed residents are entitled to full subsidies.

Torrike has university hospitals, public hospitals, and military hospitals. Military hospitals are located alongside civilian hospitals in the main garrisons. Centers of Social Power

Several avenues for political decision‐ making are open to the workers’ unions and large business clusters. A traditionally used channel is their close relationship with one or the other of the long‐standing government parties, i.e. the Torrikan Unity Party or the Torrikan Nationalist Party. In addition, these groups are incorporated, both formally and informally, into the political opinion‐forming process of the relevant ministries, as evidenced by their participation in a number of committees, advisory boards and commissions. Even at the parliamentary level, involvement of experts from the workers’ unions and chambers is a normal practice. All in all, by comparison with many other countries, this means that the large unions and business clusters in Torrike have excellent possibilities for shaping the policies relating to their interests.

Business Associations

The Confederation of Torrikan Enterprise (CTE). CTE is a major interest organization for business and industry in Torrike. It has 48 member associations representing close to 35,000 member companies with more than three million employees. The current organization is the result of a merger between the Torrikan Employers Association and the Torrikan National Federation of Industry that was completed in March 2001. Like its predecessors, the organization is actively lobbying for pro‐business interests. Tax cuts, especially the abolition of property and inheritance taxes, are a main priority. The organization also promotes the concept of private enterprises taking over the production of a larger part of services today mainly performed by the Torrikan public sector, such as education and health services.

National Trade Union Congress (NTUC). Industrial relations in Torrike reflect the symbiotic relationship between the labor movement and the dominant political party. In 1961 the Torrike Trade Union Congress split into left‐wing Torrike Association of Trade Unions (TATU) and the conservative National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The NTUC quickly became the leading trade union organization, largely because of its effectiveness and government support. Moreover, in 1963, when the TATU led a general strike against the government, the trade organization was banned and many of its leaders were arrested. The NTUC’s chairman leads the now sole trade union federation, which comprises almost 99% of total organized labor. It encompasses 13,000 member businesses representing a total of 22,000 workplaces active in retail and wholesale commerce. The category ‘retail and wholesale commerce’ includes import/export, mail order business, and e‐commerce. The retail, wholesale and import trades play a prominent role in Torrike’s economy. Commerce constitutes almost a tenth of Torrike’s Gross National Product and imports above 40%. Members include both large and small companies involved in the many sectors of commerce.

Almost all farmers are members of agricultural cooperatives, which buy supplies and sell products for the farmers and represent farmers’ interests to state agencies. Over 300,000 farmers belong to a member body of the Federation of Torrikan Farmers, a powerful organization that provides farmers with legal and tax advice as well as educational services on agricultural matters. There are two farm credit unions, a dairy association, a meat marketing association, and an egg marketing association. The National Union of Torrikan Farmers supplies its members with fertilizer, seeds, feeds, and other supplies and buys their crops.

Upper Class

The upper levels of society are occupied by a tripartite elite of high‐level civil servants, local managers, and professionals. Most are employed by foreign‐owned multinational corporations and/or wealthy Torrikan businessmen who serve as leaders in the associate world of Torrikan‐speaking communities. The first two categories are marked by fluency in English, university‐level education, and cosmopolitan outlook reinforced by foreign residence and travel. Many of the Torrikan businessmen are entrepreneurs who operate in an exclusively Torrikan setting and often have minimal educational qualifications. Their sons, however, often are graduates of the best secondary schools and of local or foreign universities and work either as English‐speaking representatives of their fathers’ businesses, as civil servants, or as professionals. Few of the elite had inherited their status, and all are aware that they cannot directly pass it along to their children. Having themselves been upwardly mobile in a society more open to individual effort than most in the region, they value society’s stress on competition, individual mobility, and success through hard work. In the domestic sphere, they express these values by devoting much effort to the education of their children.

Middle Class

Most Torrikans describe themselves as middle class, justifying that status by their ownership of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartment and the substantial and secure savings guaranteed by their Greater Torrike Visionary Fund account. Families in the middle‐income ranges usually occupy two‐ or three-bedroom apartments that they buy from the HDB, participate in one or more formal associations, take active part in planning and supervising their children’s education, stock their apartments with a range of consumer appliances, and have money to spend on hobbies, sports, or vacations. Automobile ownership is common, and most middle‐income Torrikans use public transportation. Their mode of life rests on occupational skills and educational qualifications, secure employment in large, bureaucratic government or private organizations, or ownership or their own small business.

Working Class

In a system that reflects both the great differences in educational attainment in the work force and the great significance attached to education qualifications, most large organizations, public and private, make a sharp distinction between mental and manual labor. Typically, movement between classes from lower to higher is very difficult and rare. Lower level white‐collar workers and skilled blue‐collar workers often take advantage of opportunities to upgrade their occupational skills, either through training offered by the organization or through night school and short‐term courses offered by educational or other government bodies.

Privately Employed

Unskilled workers in industry and service trades and employees in small Torrikan firms see few prospects for advancement and consider self‐employment as their only hope for upward mobility. Many Torrikan economists feel that the successful modernization of the economy and the increases both in government regulation and in rents for shops and small premises have made it more difficult for the ambitious poor to get a start.

Basic Cultural Norms and Values

Right of Common Access

Torrike’s forest policy states that, forest management will be characterized by multiple uses. Forests should be able to sustain hunting and the gathering of wild mushrooms and berries as well as active silviculture. The traditional Torrikan “right of common access” implies that regardless of who owns the land, everyone is entitled to hike through the natural landscape and to pick the mushrooms and berries that grow there. This is an important element of the multiple‐use concept, but it also assumes that people behave in a respectful way. Common access is an important tradition and a privilege that is rarely abused. In northern portions of the country, the Sami (Lapp) minority pursue reindeer husbandry in forest lands on the basis of ancient rights. The Sami are legally entitled to use lands that belong to others in order to feed and protect their reindeer herds.

Today’s forest legislation contains provisions aimed at protecting key woodland habitats for flora and fauna, selected valuable broad‐leaved deciduous trees (mainly oak and beech), forests located near high mountains and wetland forests. There are also special regulations governing some three million hectares of low-productive woodlands that are not included in the productive forest land. These regulations allow only careful low‐intensity utilization, ensuring that the character of these woodlands will remain unchanged. Key woodland habitats function as the nodes of an ecological network, while forest wetlands and low-productive woodlands often comprise ecological corridors in the landscape.

Social Partnership

One of the more distinctive features of Torrikan society is the ‘Social Partnership’. This dates back to the 1960s when the considerable economic growth and rise in employment and wages created suitable conditions for the exchange of economic and sociopolitical interests. The Social Partnership is not anchored in the constitution or laid down in any legislation. The concept recognizes the specific interests of certain groups, largely employees but also employer groups, and allows them to make informal and confidential representation to government on a range of issues where they have particular knowledge. The umbrella federations of the Social Partnership are widely believed to wield great influence in political opinion forming and decision making. Indeed they have been criticized in the past as forming a ‘secondary government’; however, their real influence has always been far more limited than popular opinion considers to be the case. Cooperation and coordination between these groups and the government have only ever applied to specific fields of politics such as income policies, agrarian market legislation, and so on. The Social Partners have made substantial contributions in the areas such as labor market policies, industrial safety legislation and equality and thus have contributed to both Torrike’s economic growth and the nation’s social harmony. The TUP has also been adept at allowing the Social Partners the semblance of influence whilst limiting their actual impact.

Gender Issues

No other country has a higher proportion of women parliamentarians and cabinet ministers, and Torrike leads the developed world in the percentage of professional and technical workers who are women. The proportion of women in the labor force is the highest worldwide. This is due both to job opportunities in the public sector, and to the support that sector provides to women in private firms. Public child‐care institutions make it easier for women to work outside the home.

Nonetheless, some occupational segregation still exists; corporate chief executives tend to be male, for example, and primary school teachers female. However, the traditional gender professions (female child‐care workers, male doctors and police officers) are becoming more equally shared.

With a robust feminist movement, comprehensive publicly supported child care, and an unparalleled percentage of women in government, Torrike is considered a leader in gender equality. Advancements in this arena are a significant national self‐stereotype of what distinguishes Torrikans from others.

In 1999, Torrike became the first nation to criminalize the buyer, not the seller, of sexual services. The law’s author noted their aim of prosecuting only those they considered the exploiters (normally men), not the exploited (normally women). The sexual liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s has been replaced by laws, attitudes, and enforcement regimes that are among the most stringent in Europe.

Criminal Activity

The domestic crime rate in Torrike is one of the lowest in the world. There are reports of petty crimes such as pick pocketing and street theft which occur at airports, tourist destinations, hotels, and on public transport. Incidents of violent crime are rare in Torrike. There is an increase in credit card fraud in the nation. Due to aggressive law enforcement efforts, drug abuse is limited in the country. Sexual crimes tend to be somewhat higher than the European average, but this was possibly due to differing laws and restrictions. For example, in Torrike, the selling of sexual services is legal, but not the purchase.

Torrike had an incarceration rate of 66 persons per 100,000 inhabitants in three years ago.

Transnational Crime

Most of the transnational crime is smuggling and human trafficking. This is most often committed by organized crime groups or their low-level associates. Smuggling is a lucrative crime in Torrike. Criminals use sea routes, land routes, and air routes for opportunistic smuggling. The latest technique being observed is the use of unmanned drones to survive border crossing sites and actually transport small amounts of illegal products.

Beer and cigarette smuggling. Torrike, not being a member of the EU, imposes significant tariffs on cigarettes and beer entering the country. The incentive to buy both of these commodities at seriously reduced prices is great. Law enforcement agencies estimate there are up to 12 million liters of smuggled beer annually. Criminal gangs, especially from Eastern Europe, have professional distribution networks in Norway and actively use social media. In the Food Research Project, “Customs confirms that there are professional players behind the smuggling, and they have previously estimated that only between five and ten percent of what is being smuggled is seized.”

Drug smuggling. Drug smuggling goes both ways. Locally produced methamphetamine's and marijuana is smuggled out of the country across Europe. Opioids are smuggled in from Asia and Africa. Cocaine and marijuana is brought in from South America.

Human trafficking. This crime is another one that also goes both ways. Humans are trafficked into Torrike for sexual slavery in illegal brothels, or as unpaid unskilled laborers. Sometimes the traffickers use Torrike as a way point en route to other European countries. Similarly, Torrikan young women have been kidnapped or tricked into being trafficked into other regions where they fetch high prices. A common ruse is to promise a high paying job in an exotic country to disaffected teens. Too late they discover they have been sold into some sort of slavery that requires an exorbitant repayment to get out.

The G.Y. (Acronym for Gammal Yrkesbrottsling (English: Old Gangsters)) are a Torrikan prison gang which has expanded its influence into every major city in the country. Their members are mostly native Torrikans. They are involved in all sorts of criminal activities, to include protection rackets, cigarette smuggling, and pimping.

Transnational Criminal Organizations

A number of transnational criminal organizations operate in and around Torrike, examples include:

Blood sport. A Torrikan criminal organization founded by immigrants from the Middle East and West Africa. It now has members from Torrike, Poland, Arnland, Framland, and Belarus. They are aligned with the Donya Syndicate from Kujenga, Africa. Loosely organized, Blood sport tends to be local leaders using teams of younger teens for pickpockets, surveillance and early warning, courier work, and burglary. Suspected leaders operate at the transnational level coordinating smuggling operations and transferring funds.

Atbrivosana/ATB.

ATB translates directly as “release” and is a cyber-criminal organization operating in every country in the Baltic region. Not associated with the Anonymous movement, they nonetheless use many of the same tactics using a veneer of anarchist political leanings. In truth, they are hackers-for-hire in the criminal world.

Legion. A criminal organization based in Tyr. It mostly consists of immigrants from Africa and South America who were born in the 1980s. They are involved in robbery and extortion. Small but rigidly organized, they are aligned with the Hodari Cartel from Amari, Africa.

Donovian Mafia. An extension of the Donovian Mafia in the Caucasus, their membership now includes some Torrikans. While openly proud of their Donovian heritage, the main victims of their activities are Donovian expatriates working and living in Torrike. The Donovian Mafia specializes in European smuggling, protection, extortion, illegal cryptocurrency mining, money laundering, and use of “dark wallets”. Members greet each other as “moy va brat” (my brother). Non-members are never referred to with that title. In Torrike, the Donovian Mafia is not a carefully structured Cosa Nostra–type family. It is a loose structure of networks which draws on people from different areas. 

Nutakus. Olvanese in Nutaku tend to keep a very low profile while using low level criminals to conduct street work. Nutakus specialize in Asian smuggling and corruption of stevedores at ports, local law enforcement officers, and judges.

Uber Cyber “Tree”, also known as “SPRUC_3”, “Spruce 3”, “3ntity”, and “Entity”. This is a decentralized Anonymous network of “Black hat” hackers which is anti-NATO in political position. Spruce-3 is linked to numerous hackers throughout Europe.

Its criminal activity includes infiltration and exploitation of banking vulnerabilities, stealing large amounts of “virtual money” later converted into bitcoins, illegal cryptocurrency mining and use of “dark wallets”. The financing network and channeling of funds have not yet been identified. Spruce 3 successfully mounted a complex center of operations in the Onion Tor network (Deep Web), using encrypted access to establish a secure communication network on the “Dark net”.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

Furnace Motorcycle Club (MC) is the largest and most dangerous motorcycle gang, and the only transnational biker gang in Torrike. There are numerous smaller domestic gangs which are being slowly subsumed into Furnace. The Furnace MC goal is to have Torrike as a “one patch country” where only the Furnace patch is allowed. This is a multi-racial gang, unlike most other clubs which are organized along racial lines. Other large U.S. gangs are attempting to establish themselves in Torrike, leading to violent encounters. Furnace MC specializes in local drug production (meth amphetamines, ecstasy, etc.) and distribution, smuggling, and extortion. There are suspected cases of them working for the Donovian Mafia. Furnace MC is known to work closely with the Bocyowicz Crime Family (BCF) in Atropia. (See DATE Caucasus for more information on BCF.)