2017

STONIA

Michael Soeldner
GESS I&S Class 9A
1/1/2017
 Utopia Michael Sldner, I&S Class 9A

INTRODUCTION
Stonia is a country filled with beautiful landscapes, modern architecture and
with a very long coastline. Its capital city is called pebble. The meaning of the
name of my country comes from the minerals that made Stonia rich. Stonia is
made up of different layers of stones: marble, basalt and other stones. This is
reflected in the name Stonia. The flag represents how Stonia is a mighty sea
faring trading country along the sea. The anchor represents its close connection
with the sea, navy blue is the color
of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It also
symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith and truth. The
White part of the flag represents light and goodness. It is considered to be the
color of perfection. Stonia aims to do right in all it does- Stonia strives to
perfection. Black is associated with power, elegance, formality.
The Red band across the flag represents fire and energy, strength, power and
determination which helps Stonia to be what she strives to be as a country.

Fig 1 showing Stonia flag (by flag

designer)

HISTORY
Stonia has been a country for many centuries. The original inhabitants settled as
far back as can be documented or remembered. They became an official country
in 2000 before Christ. They have always traded throughout the Mediterranean as
Stonia provided easy access to the Mediterranean Sea and in the opposite
direction to travel to Asia. Stonia and Morocco have had a trading treaty as far
back as the 1450 when boats entering and leaving the Mediterranean Sea had to
pass through the sea strait between Morocco and Stonia. Although there have
been many changes in government it is still an independent nation today.
The 3 main languages are Italian, French and English. The Italian derived from
the Italian settlers which came in boats and via the land bridge connecting
France and Stonia. The Italian settlers came in 1105 originally to trade and once
they found new lands to grow crops to farm; eventually they created a thriving
city. The French influence came because of the land bridge. They arrived before
the Italians in the 13th century. This made it easier for the French to settle in the
fertile and rich lands of Stonia but the original Stonian people spoke a different
French dialect which was called Pebble. Much later in the 1994 they decide to
just speak one kind of French. The English language came with the

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modernization of Stonia since they needed a common language to communicate

in and to do business.

RELIGION/CULTRUE
Stonia has never had a state religion. As settlers moved into Stonia they brought
their religions with them. In Stonia they have as a consequence adopted
Cristianity, Judaisme, Islam, Buddhism, etc. This has made the Stonian people
generally more open and understanding of other religions and cultures. This has
proven to be an advantage in the modern world as it helps them in trading and
business.
Today there is only one culture group in Stonia. However there has been some
influence from the French and Italian as well as more recent immigrants. Some
of these groups keep a strong national identity especially the muslim community.
Stonian food has been influenced by Italian, French and other immigrant
cuisines. Traditional Stonian food consists of the vegetables grown and animals
produced in Stonia. There are two types of cows the Chianina beef cow and the
bufelo. They also hunt and boar and deer is also part of their cuisine. However
they are nowadays protected and hunting is limited.
Today Stonians wear western style clothing and many dressing options are
available. In the past however they wore traditional clothing. It was made by
craftsmen and women out of cotton and wool. The mens dress was simple and
suitable for farming whilst the womens dress was bright and colorfully
embroidered.
There are some special national holidays which only happen in Stonia, one of
which is Kings day which is on the 5 of March and is 3 days long. On the 10th
of May Stonians celebrate Happiness Day which is a 2 day holiday. Then there
are also the more general religious public holidays such as Easter, Christmas,
Hari Raya, Vesak Day, ect

GEOGRAPHY
Stonia has one coast that is located on the Mediterranean Sea and the other on
the Atlantic Ocean. Although it looks like an island, in actual fact it is not an
island because it is connected to France by a natural land bridge. The
coordinates of Stonia are 4310'59. 9"N 910'17. 5"W and 3654'58. 0"N
203'05. 8"W (cow dents collected form Google maps). It is quite a large country
and Stonia has a total area of 317515.210 km. It has a massive coastline of
3,454 km excluding the 5 islands off the eastern coast. Stonia has many different
elevations from the low-lying coastline up to 3700-meter high mountains, mainly
in the north towards the interior and the mean elevation is 456 meters. The
highest peak is called Stein Top, which is 3,717 meters high. The moutain range
also houses 4 major ski resorts, the resorts are located on the ridges of the nother
west, north and north east. As can be seen on the topigfical map of Stonia in fig
5.

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Fig 3 showing the

Fig 2 showing highest cost line in Stonia
point in Stonia 3,717 (by wildsea)
meters high (Daniel
Gainza)

The South and East are known for its rolling hills. There are over 250
Rivers and there are 11 main rivers, which flow through the country. One of
which is called Tagus. It is 1,038km and is therefor the largest river in Stonia.
Stonia makes great use of these rivers as it provides most of its electricity
through hydropower for the country.

Fig 4 Map of Stonia (edited by Stein Molenaar gathered from Google maps)

It is rich in natural resources. In the mountains you find iron ore, copper, zinc,
tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble and precious stones. There are forests
and mountains in the North and East and hills and a lot of arable land in the
South. Off shore there is a lot of fish. Whilst along the coast there is a lot of salt
winning. There is some volcanic activity in the Mill Islands. These islands are
prone to earthquakes. The most active volcano is Niets (2457 m) on Noppes
Island. It last erupted in 1962. The hilly area of the south has periodic droughts
as well as occasional flooding.

Fig 5 is a topogr aphical map of Stonia (edited by stein gathered from pinterest by Gail
Oaks )

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56.1% of the country is good agricultural land of which

arable land 22.9%; permanent crops 9.1%; permanent pasture 20.1%
36.8% is covered in forest.

The climate is temperate. The summers are clear and hot in the interior and more moderate
cool temperatures and more rain along coast. The mountain areas are colder with
cold winters. July is the hottest month in Stonia with an average temperature
of 24C (74F) and the coldest is January at 12C (54F The annual rainfall is
125150 cm per year.

There are some Environmental Issues one of which is desertification which

happens in the South since it is the dry part of the country with minimal rainfall.
This is caused by global warming; this is caused by the rise in the temperature of
the earth. Another issue is pollution in the sea off shore, because of Stonias
large coast line it has a big problem with this. Stonia does not produce a lot of
waste because of its strict regulations but it is has lots of waste from the
surrounding countries. In Stonia all liquids are sold in glass bottles, plastics are
allowed for certain products only and recycled or used for infrastructure. The
plastic is used to make earthquake resistant housing for example. The waste
produced by the surrounding countries is being eaten by fish and damages coral
reefs as well as washing up onto Stonias beaches. Stonia is trying to work with
Boyan Slat from the TU in Delft to reduce waste off the Stonian shore. It is also
trying to work with its neighbours in the hope to get them to agree to measures
within their own country which will eventually reduce the amount of waste
ending up in Stonias waters. In addition, Stonia has 3 big trading ports; the
incoming tankers also produce pollution and have been caught to dump stuff off
shore.

WILD LIFE

The fauna of Stonia is a mixture of European and North African types of

animals. As in other parts of southern Europe wild goat, wild pig, and deer can
be found in the countryside. The wolf and the lynx survive in the remote
mountains regions of the far North and Northeast. There are also a lot of foxes,
rabbits, and Iberian hares.
Among Stonias indigenous animals there are also tortoises, bats, snakes, and
small reptiles and amphibians. Many types of fish, are found off shore. Whales
and dolphins are often spotted off the coast off Stonia too during the migratory
season when the water is warmer.

Fig 6 show brown bear in

Stonia (by Fig 7 showing pristine coral reef of the shore off
northernspainholidays) Stonia (by toby Hudson)

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GOVERNMENT
The system of government used in Stonia is the untitary system. Unitary System
means that One central government controls weaker states. Power is not shared
between states, counties, or provinces (skylinecollage). Stonia Government
type is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. It has a number of parties that
govern the country with a prime minister in charge although the head of the
country is the king. Anyone can form a party as long as they can come up with a
minimum of 50.000 people voting for you. They have to have a justified reason
that explains how they can help change or improve Stonia. Stonians vote every 3
years. People can re elect a very good person into government twice.
The conventional long form name of Stonia country is The Kingdom of Stonia and the
conventional short form is Stonia. The capital is called Pebble. The Legal system of
Stonia is a civil law system. A civil law system is a system were its core
principles are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary
source of law( LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center).
There is no citizenship by birth. There is citizenship by descent which means
that at least one parent must be a citizen of Stonia, although dual citizenship is
recognized. If you were to want to become a resident then the residency
requirements for naturalization is a 5 year stay in the country. The chief of state
is King Rock XIII (since 6 march 2001). He is 50 years old at present. The head
of the executive government is Prime Minister his name is Daan. The
government is very open to change and will try and support anyone to help
modernize the country or try to evoke change.

ECONOMY
Stonia is the eight-largest economy in the European Union and plays an
important role as a European transportation hub with its three big trading ports,
good industrial relations, and little unemployment. The industry focuses on food
and beverages processing, metals and metal manufacturing, chemicals for the
pharmaceutical business as well as medical equipment, shipbuilding, automobiles
and auto parts and finally machine tools. A highly mechanized agricultural sector
produces wine, fruit like: lemons and oranges, olive oil. This sector employs
only 4% of the labor force. What they can not sell fresh is used for the food
processing industry. The country is the worlds tenth largest agricultural
exporter.
Stonia is part of the euro zone, and therefore its monetary policy is controlled by
the European Central Bank. Stonias finacial sector is serviced by one state bank
and multiple commercial banks allowing for easy international trade. Together
they which all banking assets. Stonia has a GDP of 1.199 trillion us dollars and a
surplus of 0.7%. GDP per capita is 50,800 us dollars, GDP growth is 3.1 Drivers
of growth includes increased exports and business investments.
exports and Imports
The export is worth 460.1 billion us dollars and consisted of food and beverages
processing, metals and metal manufacturing, chemicals for the pharmaceutical
business as well as medical equipment, shipbuilding, automobiles and auto parts
as well as machine tools as well as wine, fruit like lemons and oranges, olive oil
and other fresh produce and processed foods. The most important export partners
are France, Germany, England, Italy, Netherlands and the USA.

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Stonias imports are worth 376.3 billion us dollars. Stona imports primarily,
chemical products, vehicles, optical and precision instruments, computer
accessories and parts, semiconductors and related devices, oil products, base
metals, textile materials, fuels, consumer goods . The main import partners are
China, France, Switzerland( prcision and optical instruments), Saudi Arabia (oil
products).

INFRASTRUCTURE
The infrastructure of Stonia consists of roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings and
other facilities that are needed. It is very modern and the cities are well thought
out incorporating the older infrastructure with the new. This blend of old and
new has created not only a great network of roads, bridges, buildings but it is
also nice to look. This infrastructure supports trade.

SOCIAL FACTORS
Stonias people are very hospitable and family minded. They work hard. They
prefer to live together as a family unit.
The Social progress indexs calculated score is 95.9. This shows that it is
citizans are well taken care. If you look at figure four uses three factors which
are basic human needs, foundation of well being and opportunity. With a score
of 95.9 they are ranked highest in the world showing that Stonians are happy
with their country and their lives.
The Quality of life is , consequently, very high.

Fig 8 showing rank of Social progress indexs (edited by Stein Molenaar collected form social progress
imperative)

Fig 9 shows sub topics of social progress index (collected form social progress imperative)

Stonias Tax is 39%. This is quite high but the government provides for all
roads, public transport, education till 18 years of age and sudized healthcare.
Your income will influence the tax bracket you are in. For example when you
earn little you will pay less than someone who earns more. Your income decides
which tax bracket you are in. There is a total of 4 brackets.

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The Tax on goods or VAT (value added tax) is not levied on basic needs such as
food, water, on these items there is little to no tax on the good. However there is
VAT on luxury items such as home apliances, perfumes, sigarettes, wine, high
end clothes and some high end electronics.
Stonia does provide good quality subsideized housing for the less fortunate
citizins however real estate is relatively cheap as Stonia is a vast country and
there is enough land. So land is cheap. In the city areas land is more expensive
and this is were we see some high rise.
One of the government objectives include trying to reduce the enviromental foot
print like investing in solar and tides and wind energy; this means that right now
39% of the grid energy is power by clean energy. This is paid for by
government tax income. Because of its massif coast line, tidal and with winds
energy are possible. There are wind turbines along some of the coast and in the
sea .By 2050 the government hopes to get all Stonias electricity from renewable
clean energy sources.
To reduce its ecological footprint Stonia is also recycling all its water.

HEALT CARE
Heath care in Stonia is 12% of GDP. The density of physicians is 15
physicians/1,000 population. There are more than 2000 hospitals in Stonia.

POPULATION
The total population of stonia is 46.56 million. There are 91.4 inhabitants per
square kilometre. Most of them live in the coastal areas and the main cities. The
population groth rate is 0.72% and life expectency is 81.4 years, the litracy rate
is 98.9 % and school life expetantcy is 23 years of age, unemployment rate is
2%.

MILITARY
Stonias Armed Forces, consists of an Army (land) Navy, and the Stonia Air
Force as well as a Stonias special forces called STF(spical task force). This task
force is 1000 strong. The men and women that serve in Stonia are between 18
and 30 years old. It is a obligatary military service for men and women between
18 and 20 for a period of 22-24 months, after which you can voluntary stay on
till 30 years of age. You must be Stonian or a legal immigrant. When you re-sign
you must do so for 2-3 years. The budget for the active military- 510,600 strong
- is 12.35 billion. Their main base as well as all training facilities is off shore on
one of the islands. It has a an excellent Navy, one of the best in the world in part
because of the long coast line. They are part of NATO.

TRANSPORT
All public trasport is owend by the Stonias government. This system is called
stone transport (stonet).
The Rail transport has a total route length of 15,120 km long; this includes train
and metro system. The metro system can be found in the capital as well as some
of the larger cities. In addition to the train and metro there are buses that serve
smaller stations. Besides the metro lines and railroads, Stonia has a road system
of 680,200km including some toll roads. The government discourages the use of
cars in cities. They offer those who decide not to have a car a tax rebate i.e.

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they pay less tax. They do encourage electrical cars instead of gas and petrol
because of environmental reasons.

There are 2 international air ports and 10 smaller air ports. The royal national
airline is Stonair line with its iconic unpainted plains.
There are 3 big trading ports, the largest one handling 538 million metric tons of
cargo the two smaller ones handle 300 million metric tons of cargo per year.

OVERALL
Stonia is a thriving, modern, state that tries to change along with the demands of
modern society change. Thriving on change and modern ideas makes it a great
place to live and an interesting place to visit. The many great sites and wildlife
to see, intertwined with the modern ideas of reducing their footprint on the earth
surface. This makes it wonderful country to live, work and grow in.

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