Social: Limaria

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Limaria contains one of the most homogeneous populations of any of the Caucasus countries. Nearly 95% of all Limarian residents come from Limarian ancestry, speak Limarian as their first language, and belong to the Limarian Apostolic Church. This unity among its citizens tends to make most Limarians wary and distrustful of those without a similar background, especially those with different religious beliefs. The Limarians are proud to inhabit the country that chose Christianity as the state religion before any other nation in the world.

When Limarians deal with each other, several attitudes emerge and at least five traits appear. First, Limarians always plan to negotiate with each other over price, as Limarians expect to pay less than if the Limarian sold the product to an outsider. Even if the Limarian buyer changes the job specifications in the middle of the work, the Limarian buyer does not expect the Limarian craftsman to change his price. Second, the Limarian tradesman already knows the previous tenet so he will exaggerate the true value of the project or do a substandard job. Third, when Limarians deal with any Limarian institution, they will consider the cost in money; the political, social, or religious connotation of the institution; and the immediate benefits to the institution before getting involved. Fourth, a Limarian business owner expects something free or at a greatly discounted price when a Limarian institution approaches him on business. Lastly, Limarian institutions hardly ever work together because they can never agree on anything.

When Limarians deal with foreigners, they often take a completely different approach than when they deal with each other. First, Limarians believe themselves inferior to Westerners or Europeans. Limarians often attempt to imitate the other culture or even adopt the other culture. Second, Limarians often tolerate other nations’ bad habits that they would not tolerate among themselves. Third, Limarians do not attempt to negotiate a cheaper price when they deal with foreigners and will raise their level of politeness in order to avoid the shame of haggling.

Social Statistics

Statistic	Limaria
Age distribution (%)	0-14 years: 18.2 15-64 years: 71.1 65 years and over: 10.6
Median age	Total: 31.9 Male: 29.1 Female: 34.7
Life expectancy at birth in years (Rank)	Total: 72.68 Male: 69.06 Female: 76.81 (118)
Literacy rate (older than 15) (%)	Total: 99.4 Male: 99.7 Female: 99.2
Population Growth rate (Rank)	2,967,975 0.063% (188)
Birth rate per 1,000 (Rank)	12.65 (161)
Death rate per 1,000 (Rank)	8.39 (97)
Net Migration rate per 1,000 (Rank)	-4.56 (159)
Urban population Annual urbanization rate	64% -0.3%
Infant mortality rate (Rank)	20.21 (104)
Fertility rate (Children per woman) (Rank)	1.36 (201)
Major diseases in the OE	0 Diarrheal diseases 0 Typhoid 0  Hepatitis A 0  West Nile fever 0 Crimean-Congo 0 Hemorrhagic fever 0 Meningococcal 0 Meningitis 0 Tuberculosis
Ethnic groups (%)	Limarian (97.9) Kurd (1.3) Donovian Arab (0.5) Other (0.3)
Religions in OE (%)	Limarian Apostolic (94.7) Other Christian (3.5) Yezidi (1.3) Muslim (0.5)
Languages	Limarian (97.7) Kurdish (1.0) Donovian (0.9) Other (0.4)

Population Movement (Migration/IDPs/Refugees)

The three-year conflict between Limaria and Atropia over the latter’s province of Lower Janga and a nearby regional conflict that occurred a decade later created most of the IDPs who now reside in Limaria. The Lower Janga dispute that began 20 years ago generated over a million refugees, and 360,000 ethnic Limarians left Atropia for Limaria. Since then, more than 50,000 (or 21%) of these ethnic Limarians chose to become Limarian citizens. Others do not wish to become citizens because they perceive no tangible benefits to possessing a Limarian passport. Many of the others, however, are elderly with no job skills and must rely on governmental benefits to survive. Several of the ethnic Limarians who formerly resided in Atropian cities now live in rural areas where they must perform farm labor to feed their families, even though they had no agricultural experience before arriving in Limaria. The Limarian refugees will probably continue to struggle until they find a permanent place to settle, because it is unlikely that they will ever return to their homes in Atropia.

A regional dispute a decade ago caused about 17,000 of the 25,000 ethnic Limarians who lived outside the country to flee back to Limaria. While most of these “new” refugees live better than those ethnic Limarians displaced a decade earlier, they suffer with an official unemployment rate of 7.3% and an unofficial unemployment rate of 27%. Most ethnic Limarian refugees must cope with a smaller living area, foreign customs, and scarcity of jobs. Most of these refugees would not survive without support from various UN activities. Many of these new refugees look forward to the time when they can safely return home, where they believe life will be better than their current situation.

Most emigration is for economic purposes, with Limarian males moving to Donovia, the EU, and North America in order to secure jobs. Remittances are then sent back to Limaria and play an important role in the country’s economy. Immigration is minimal, and usually consists of ethnic Limarians repatriating from Atropia or Gorgas.

Population Distribution

Almost two-thirds (64%) of all Limarians live in urban areas, nearly the same levels as Ariana and Donovia. Limarian cities show a small annual decrease with an urbanization rate of -0.3%. Over one- third of Limaria’s citizens live in its capital city, Yerevan. The rest of the country remains rural, with no other cities larger than 200,000 people. Only three Limarian cities contain over 100,000 people and only an additional two support a population of over 50,000 residents. Whoever controls Yerevan will likely control the rest of Limaria.

Demographic Mix

Limaria almost duplicates Gorgas with a female population of 52.9% and a net negative migration rate of 4.56 people per thousand, but that is where the similarities end. Limaria’s median age of 31.9 years is seven years younger than Gorgas’s median age. Limaria possesses a higher birth rate and lower death rate than Gorgas. While Limarians, as a whole, do not live as long as Gorgans, female Limarians outlive males by about seven years. A larger percent of Limaria’s population belongs to  the 15-64 age categories than either Gorgas or Atropia. Due to its smaller size, Limaria has only about 809,293 males and 862,679 females available for military service in the age 16-49 category. Medical screening, however, reduces the number of Limarians fit for military service to about 1.3 million personnel or 644,195 males and 724,085 females. Only about 24,611 Limarian males and 22,682 females reach military age annually, less than half of that of their contentious neighbor, Atropia. The maximum military that Limaria could generate is likely to reach only about 300,000 personnel. Due to its smaller population and lack of economic resources, Limaria will always maintain a smaller army than its neighboring countries.

Social Volatility

Leading cause of Limaria’s high social volatility is that Limaria bases nearly all of its foreign policy on its longstanding ethnic conflict with Atropia and support for an independent Lower Janga. This policy prevails despite the fact that the international community recognizes Lower Janga as an Atropian province. Most of Limaria’s military supports independence for Lower Janga and the tenuous ceasefire between Atropia and Limaria. Both countries claim numerous ceasefire violations by the other side with casualties on both sides, usually due to sniper fire.

Limaria advocates an independent Lower Janga. Limaria’s interests are opposed by the Free Lower Janga Movement (FLJM), a rebel group fighting Limarians in the region. The FLJM found a fertile recruiting ground in the IDP camps in northwestern Atropia. The FLJM is passively supported by the government of Atropia.

FLJM conducts military activities in Lower Janga (generally focused against Limarians) in hopes of forcing the indigenous population to leave the province. FLJM’s ultimate twofold objective is to re-establish Lower Janga as an Islamic territory under the control of the Government of Atropia, and to displace the Limarian population in the province. Reports indicate (with high confidence) that Atropia may clandestinely assisting the FLJM by providing it with military support. Members of FLJM are active in local business and local politics, providing legitimate cover for FLJM activities. FLJM forces clash frequently with Limarian Liberation Front (LLF) elements, with each side blaming the other for assorted acts of banditry and random violence.

LLF consists of a number of independent radical Limarian threat groups that are fused together by ideology and the common threat posed by the FLJM. The driving motivation of this loose confederation is to deny the FLJM Lower Janga and secure the “republic” for Limaria. Reporting indicates that LLF will cooperate with the Arianian military when it is in the group’s best interest. However, most in the LLF do not want a permanent relationship with Arianian forces. Most violent attacks are against FLJM members and Atropian civilians. The LLF can conduct small cross-border attacks and maintains links to other global radical groups. Though the Lower Janga Army (equivalent to a militia brigade) is suspected of having cooperated with LLF on more than one occasion, and vice versa, both the Lower Jangan government and its army avoid open association with LLF for public-perception reasons. Reporting indicates that either the LLF or the FLJM are attempting or in the process of obtaining a dirty bomb, which could have a severe psychological impact on the civilian and military population.

Education Level

Similar to Gorgas, Limaria enjoys a high literacy rate of 99.4% for those 15 years of age and older. Donovian is a widely-taught second language in Limarian schools. By law, students must attend both elementary and secondary schools funded by the government. Over 90 institutes of higher learning operate in Limaria, most located in Yerevan. Nineteen public and 71 private universities operate in Yerevan, with the others scattered in the other largest Limarian cities. The Limarian government also operates 12 music and art schools along with another 38 state technical colleges. Limaria, like Gorgas, also contains few natural resources to produce income.

Ethnic Diversity

In the region, Limaria represents the most ethnically homogeneous society, as 97.9% of the population declare themselves as ethnic Limarians. Kurds comprise 1.3% of the population, and Donovians make up another 0.5%. All other ethnic groups account for only 0.3% of the populace. Limarians trace their history to the 6th century BC and speak an Indo-European language. They combined Arianian, Hellenic, and Christian traditions to form a unique culture. Almost all Limarians, wherever they live, consider themselves Limarians first and citizens of the country where they reside second.

Religious Diversity

Like its ethnicity, Limaria possesses a homogeneous religion, as 94.7% of the population claim to belong to the Limarian Apostolic Church. In 301 AD, Limaria became the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Other Christian faiths compose 3.5% of the population, another 1.3% practice Yezidi—a form of Yazdanism that blends Kurdish and Sufi beliefs—and 0.5% are Donovian Arab Muslims. Limaria draws great pride from being the first country to establish Christianity as its faith and feels that it must defend itself against extremist Muslims who wish to impose a militant brand of Islam upon others.

Common Languages

Another cultural factor for the Limarian people’s homogeneity is their language, as 97.7% speak Limarian. About 1% of Limarians speak Kurdish and less than 1% speak Donovian as their first language. All other languages only make up 0.4% of the Limarian population. For communication with the local population, personnel will need to speak Limarian or use an interpreter.

Criminal Activity

While Limaria’s high level of criminal activity reflects that of many other countries—human trafficking, domestic violence, murder, tax evasion, corruption, extortion, money laundering, clan or gang violence, and organized crime—its level does not reach that of other more wealthy and more modern nations. Crime continues to escalate, however, while crime detection continues to drop. Criminal clans known as gerdastans (firesides) operate in Limaria, especially Yerevan, and control much of the country’s economy. The major gerdastans include the Limarian Socialist Democratic Party, Limarian National Labor Union, and Abgar Bozian’s Bozian gerdastan. The latter two are officially fraternal orders that claim to champion the interests of their dues-paying members. In reality, they both are complicit in tax evasion, strong-arm tactics in the realm of imminent domain, and violating Limarian government restrictions on cross-border trade with Gorgas. The Limarian National Labor Union is heavily involved in human trafficking, while Abgar Bozian’s organization has a robust drug smuggling operation.

Limarian Tunnel Found by Investigators

Criminal clans use tunnels to infiltrate into neighboring countries. The networks are used to smuggle anything of value. Corruption on both sides of the borders keeps the underground pipelines flowing. The sophistication of these tunnels can be drastically different. Some of these tunnels have lights and electricity and other are just holes in the ground. Many of the tunnels were created by and are used by the Limarian military. It is unknown how many tunnels are active or where they are located. The tunnel network is a growing menace throughout the region and will likely to keep growing.

Human Rights

Limaria’s record on human rights is qualitatively better than many of the other countries in the region, and it appears that the country continues to move toward the Western standard. Freedom House rates Limaria as “partly free” in regard to its human rights policies. Political freedom continues to improve. Freedom of the press still does not reach Western standards; the government declared a 20-day “state of emergency” after the Limarian presidential elections three years ago to ban public gatherings, censor Internet and print media, and block external radio transmissions. The Limarian government continues to harass or imprison Jehovah’s Witnesses for their refusal to bear arms in support of the state. Limarians, in general, harass the small Yezidi Kurd population by hazing in the military and providing only a perfunctory response to crimes committed against its members.

Centers of Social Power

The family serves as the basic social element of Limaria’s population. Limarians celebrate any and all occasions with big family gatherings. The church is symbolically important in Limarian life, based on the premise that all citizens should adhere to the same faith. As the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion, Limarians take a special pride in conforming to rituals of their common Apostolic faith.

Basic Cultural Norms and Values

Limaria, primarily a Christian nation, is hemmed in by Muslim nations on most of its borders. Limaria’s strident defense of the quasi-independent Lower Janga “republic” is due to the large number of ethnic Limarians who reside in the area. While Limaria fought Atropia to a stalemate in their three-year war over the disputed territory, the current political situation demonstrates Limarian success. While the Limarians renounced force as a way to settle the Lower Janga question, they will do whatever is believed necessary to ensure Lower Janga remains a de facto autonomous republic.

Customs and Practices

Meeting & Greeting	Will often arrive at meetings late and blame it on “Limarian Timing.” Shaking hands is common, but females are less likely to shake hands than males. Strangers greet each other in the country, but not in urban areas. Limarians enjoy telling foreigners about the richness of their culture.
Visiting/ Hospitality	Will often throw a large party for relatives, friends, or colleagues to celebrate any happy occasion. Based on the knowledge that many people will arrive late, the activity will probably not start on time. Limarians spare no expense when they celebrate, especially at weddings. It is one’s social duty to attend weddings and funerals of relatives.
Manners	Limarians are very polite and hospitable people. In interactions with other Limarians, arguments often get loud, but less so with foreigners.
Cultural Dos & Don’ts	Black is the primary clothing color, especially in the winter months. Smoking is much more prevalent than it is in the US and some other Western countries.
Gifts	Limarians enjoy receiving anything free.
Taboos	Do not make fun of or play down the seriousness of the Lower Janga Conflict. Women do not stare at strangers. Women do not smoke on the street.
Personal Space	Much less than that of the US. Limarians will stand very close while talking to a person.
Marriage Rituals	Weddings are a major event that includes a betrothal, engagement, and wedding. Godfathers must bring the most expensive gift. Brides wear a red silk wedding gown with headpiece shaped into wings and covered with feathers. The couple walks through an arch of flowers formed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The couple releases a pair of white doves symbolizing love and happiness. Guests throw coins at the bride during the reception. The morning after the wedding, the women related to the groom bring a red apple to the bride’s home. While couples prefer to make a new home, a housing shortage may force them to live with the groom’s family.
Work Week/ Work Hours	Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week with a Saturday–Sunday weekend.
Concept of Time	Like most of the area, most Limarians remain more relaxed about time than European or Western countries.
Dispute Resolution	There are no specific cultural methods for resolution of disputes.
Birth Rituals	On the church holidays after the birth, the house is decorated with green branches & music is played. Only relatives can see the baby for 40 days after its birth.
Death Rituals	Special ceremonies occur on the day of the funeral, the day after, the 7th day after, the 40th day after, and the anniversary of the person’s death. In households that make wine, they make a special wine for the funeral. Food and brandy are served to the dead. Limarians celebrate the birthdays of their dead loved ones.

Summary

Limaria has the most homogenous population in the region, with nearly 95% of the population belonging to the same ethnic group, practicing the same religion, and speaking the same language. As the first Christian state, Limaria was invaded several times over the last 1,500 years. These invasions fostered a national belief that suspects other nations of wanting to seize Limarian land and destroy its national culture. Limarians look at every event, political or otherwise, through this lens of persecution when they make decisions. For that reason, Limaria will always support independence for Lower Janga.