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======Introduction======
=====Background:=====
For millenia Kartar has stood as a leading light, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, in the practice of civilisation itself.  For much of the population, living standards are extraordinarily high and room for personal choice is expansive, although political controls remain tight.

AKA:  The important people have a great degree of freedom if they so choose, although the circumscribing of actions due to responsibilities and duties is accepted more often than not.  And the un-important people, well...

======Geography======
=====Location:=====
Western Shores, bordering the Ambria, Horse Wilds, Northern Wastes, Zylistan.  Covers much of the west(?) of the XXX continent
=====Geographic coordinates:=====
35 00 N, 105 00 E
=====Map references:=====
Western Shores, XXX

=====Area:=====
total: 27,298,474 sq km \\
land: 24,326,410 sq km \\
water: 3,270,550 sq km

=====Land boundaries:=====
total: 22,117 km
border countries: Ambria, 120 km, Horsewilds 576 km, Northern Wastes, 1200 km (est.), Zylistan 890 km
=====Coastline:=====
14,500 km
=====Maritime claims:=====
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Islands of Jian
=====Climate:=====
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
=====Terrain:=====
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

=====Elevation extremes:=====
lowest point: Allnegarde Break -1170 m \\
highest point: Mount Xiao-an 9,001 m (Everest is 8,850 km)

=====Natural resources:=====
salt, coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
=====Land use:=====
arable land: 15.4%
permanent crops: 1.25%
other: 83.35%
Irrigated land:
2,525,800 sq km
=====Natural hazards:=====
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
=====Environment - current issues:=====
water shortages, particularly in the arid regions; water pollution from untreated wastes near major cities; deforestation; estimated loss of one-eighteenth of agricultural land to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species

=====Geography - note:=====
world's largest country; Mount Xian-an is the world's tallest peak ; the salt pans in Lan-Xu are the largest in the world, larger than some countries

======People======
=====Population:=====
843,200,812 (last census est.)
=====Age structure:=====
0-14 years: 21.4% (male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415) \\
15-64 years: 71% (male 477,182,072/female 450,664,933) \\
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female 51,886,182) (est.)
=====Median age:=====
====Among Cheetahs====
total: 28.62 years \\
male: 26.87 years \\
female: 32.67 years

====Among Lions====
total: 32.23 years \\
male: 31.87 years \\
female: 32.63 years

====Among Tigers====
total: 62.26 years \\
male: 41.87 years \\
female: 53.67 years

====Among Jaguars====
total: 32.26 years \\
male: 31.87 years \\
female: 32.67 years

====Among Other Races====
total: 29.55 years \\
male: 28.12 years \\
female: 30.18 years

====Total====
total: 32.26 years \\
male: 31.87 years \\
female: 32.67 years

=====Population growth rate:=====
Among Cheetahs \\
0.97% \\
Among Lions \\
0.89% \\
Among Tigers \\
0.72% \\
Among Jaguars \\
0.94 \\
Among Other Races \\
0.0103
=====Birth rate:=====
13.14 births/1,000 population (est.)
=====Death rate:=====
6.94 deaths/1,000 population (est.)
=====Net migration rate:=====
0.0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (off.)
=====Sex ratio:=====
====Cheetahs====
at birth:  1.1 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years:  1.06 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years:  0.89 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over:  0.46 male(s)/female \\
total population: 0.62 male(s)/female

====Lions====
at birth:  0.62 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years:  0.78 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years:  0.25 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over:  0.02 male(s)/female

====Tigers====
at birth:  0.11 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years:  0.11 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years:  0.08 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over:  0.01 male(s)/female

====Jaguars====
at birth:  1.01 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years:  0.98 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years:  0.78 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over:  0.23 male(s)/female

====Felines====
at birth: 0.32 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years: 0.23 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years: 0.18 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over: 0.01 male(s)/female \\
total population: 0.11 male(s)/female (est.)

====Other Races====
at birth: 0.97 male(s)/female \\
under 15 years: 0.94 male(s)/female \\
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female \\
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female \\
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (est.)
=====Infant mortality rate:=====
====Among Felines====
total: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births \\
male: 14.11 deaths/1,000 live births \\
female: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births (est.)
====Among Other Races====
total: 23 deaths/1,000 live births \\
male: 28.61 deaths/1,000 live births \\
female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (est.)

=====Life expectancy at birth:=====
====Among Felines====
total population: 72.27 years \\
male: 70.65 years \\
female: 74.09 years (est.)
====Among Other Races====
total population: 72.27 years \\
male: 70.65 years \\
female: 74.09 years (est.)
=====Total fertility rate:=====
1.72 children born/woman (est.)
=====Nationality:=====
noun: Kartara / Kartaran (singular / plural)
adjective: Kartaran
=====Ethnic groups:=====
Feline 44.9%, (Cheetah 19.2%, Jaguar 17.1%, Lion 6%, Tiger 2.6%), Human 23.4%, Zylistani 8.8%
=====Religions:=====
The feline religion is basically ancestor veneration, veneration of honour, and survival of the best.
====Among Felines====
Ancestor veneration 97%, Norse pantheon 1%-2%, Practicing Other 3%-4%
====Among Other Races====
Ancestor veneration 42% Norse pantheon 39%

=====Languages:=====
Standard Kartaran \\
High Kartaran \\
Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
=====Literacy:=====
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
====Among felines====
total population: 90.9% \\
male: 85.1% \\
female: 96.5%
====Among other groups====
total population: 40.9%

======Government======
=====Country name:=====
conventional long form:  The Glorious and Eternal Empire of Kartar \\
conventional short form: Kartar
local long form:  \\
local short form: Kartar

=====Government type:=====
Imperial state
=====Capital:=====
Pei-lei-gang
=====Administrative divisions:=====
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
: provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
: autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet)
: municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
=====Independence:=====
As long as the mythology exists.  Over 3,000 years.
=====National holidays:=====
Day of Gratitude for the Ancestor's Blessing the Great and Eternal Empire of Kartar with the Empress and her Honoured Family \\
Week of Unworthy Descendants Demonstrating Great Thanks to Glorious Ancestors

=====Constitution:=====
There is no written constitution.  Instead there are conflicting traditions, stories of the past and power.
=====Legal system:=====
a complex amalgam of custom and statute coloured largely by the dictates of honour and correct behavious, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law.  However, as the current powers like the system the way it is, these movements tend to be run by the young or disenfranchised.
=====Suffrage:=====
None on a national scale.  Heads of family and departments may advise the Empress.
=====Executive branch:=====
chief of state: Empress ??? \\
head of government: Empress ??? \\
cabinet: The Heads of the Nine Great Torareichou Houses, and a representative from each of the other Banbutsunoreichou

=====Legislative branch:=====
Officially, there is no legislative branch outside the Empress and her adviors.  Technically, many of the provinces have customary law of their own that, when interpreted by the local magistrate can create new law.  All of the Great Houses also have some ability to legislate on their own lands.  Finally, each of the non-tiger homelands have a limited traditional capability of legislating for their own people.

Each of the lands has a different ruling body, from the Lion's dictatorial head to the Leopard's absolute democracy.

=====Judicial branch:=====
Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
=====Political parties and leaders:=====
no substantial political opposition groups exist.

=====Flag description:=====

=====Shield description:=====

=====National Animal=====

=====National Plant:=====
Not applicable

======Economy======
=====Economy - overview:=====

=====GDP - composition by sector:=====
agriculture: 13.8%
industry and construction: 52.9%
services: 33.3% (2004 est.)
=====Labor force:=====
760.8 million
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 49%, industry 22%, services 29% (2003 est.)
=====Unemployment rate:=====
9.8% in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004 est.)
=====Population below poverty line:=====
10% (2001 est.)
=====Household income or consumption by percentage share:=====
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
=====Inflation rate (consumer prices):=====
4.1% (2004 est.)
=====Investment (gross fixed):=====
46% of GDP (2004 est.)
=====Agriculture - products:=====
rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish
=====Industries:=====
mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals; coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including rail cars and locomotives, and ships
=====Industrial production growth rate:=====
17.1% (2004 est.)
=====Exports - commodities:=====
machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel
=====Exports - partners:=====
US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17%, Japan 12.4%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 4% (2004)
=====Imports:=====
$552.4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
=====Imports - commodities:=====
machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel
=====Imports - partners:=====
Japan 16.8%, Taiwan 11.4%, South Korea 11.1%, US 8%, Germany 5.4% (2004)
=====Economic aid - recipient:=====
NA
=====Currency (code):=====

======Communications======
=====Government pigeon post:=====
A bureaucratic disaster.
=====Magical communication:=====
See Magic
=====Military communication:=====
See Military

======Transportation======
=====Railways:=====
total: 71,898 km
standard gauge: 71,898 km 1.435-m gauge (18,115 km electrified)
dual gauge: 23,945 km (multiple track not included in total) (2002)
=====Highways:=====
total: 1,765,222 km
paved: 395,410 km (with at least 25,130 km of expressways)
unpaved: 1,369,812 km (2002 est.)
=====Waterways:=====
121,557 km (2002)
=====Ports and harbors:=====
Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai
=====Merchant marine:=====
minimal.  Kartar is a largely isolationist state.

======Military======
=====Military branches:=====
Imperial Army (PLA), Imperial Navy and Shishi (death) Corps (magical and other special forces units)
=====Military service age and obligation:=====
18-22 years of age for compulsory military service, with 24-month service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service; 17 years of age for women who meet requirements for specific military jobs
=====Manpower available for military service:=====
males age 18-49: 342,956,265 (est.)
=====Manpower fit for military service:=====
males age 18-49: 281,240,272 (est.)
=====Manpower reaching military service age annually:=====
males: 13,186,433 (est.)
=====Military expenditures - percent of GDP:=====
0.043
=====Military Units:=====
The smallest unit in the army is called a streak.  Special forces tend to organised into units called ambushes.

======Transnational Issues======
=====Disputes - international:=====
=====Refugees and internally displaced persons:=====