Darmen

The Republic of Darmen, commonly called Darmen, is a presidential republic in Rushmore. It is bordered on the north and east by a body of water commonly known within Darmen as the Southern Vaia Sea, on the southeast by the Westlands State of Valladares, and on the south and west by uninhabited frontier land, some of which was formerly claimed by Carmadin. Darmen has a population of 8,573,661 as of the 2045 census.

Darmen is most well known for its sporting achievements. Formerly a regional mid-power within Rushmore, a massive decrease in population and an economic downturn has relegated it to a status of a small, but developed nation, holding relatively little influence over the rest of the region.

Population
The total population of Darmen is 8,573,661 as of 2045. The population is growing at a rapid rate; a 21.99% increase occurred between the 2037 and 2045 censuses. 43.31% of Darmen's total population resides within Scott City. The average life expectancy is 92.99 years.

Language
The official language of Darmen is English, spoken by 95.17% of the population. It is the predominant primary language for must multilingual speakers, and is used for instruction in the vast majority of schools and in all collegiate institutions.

Having formerly held the status of co-official language, Legonian has now been relegated to the status of a Recognized Language. Legonian is a unique language blending English grammar rules with a vocabulary which draws on multiple different sources, including the various aboriginal languages of the first Darmeni inhabitants, English, German, Irish Gaelic and Norwegian. For many learning to speak the language, pronunciation of the words can be incredibly difficult. Experts in the Legonian language have agreed that to some extent various words are impossible even for expert speakers to pronounce. 7.73% of the population is able to speak Legonian.

Spanish is also a Recognized Language. The vast majority of Spanish speakers are located in the Southeast, in the municipalities of Chavarría, Kalenda and Rogerton. 5.8% of the population is able to speak Spanish.

Languages recognized by the government at regional and municipal level are: Acquan, Arabic, Banijan, French, Portuguese and Tamar Anglo-Spanic. Acquan, is a Romance language originating in the nation of Ossidiacqua which shares many similarities with Italian and Spanish. It is predominantly spoken in the municipality of New Darmen by members of the Acquan refugee community that settled there. Most Acquan's are now either bilingual or trilingual, speaking either English or Spanish as their second language, if not both. A total of 0.6% of the population can speak Acquan.

Cotdelapomais French, although almost identical to Québécois French, does have some differences, having been influenced by the separate culture of Cotdelapoms. Like Acquan, the majority of its speakers reside in New Darmen. 1.03% of Darmenis are Cotdelapomais French speakers.

Spanish is the most widely spoken regional language, and ranked third among all languages, behind only English and Legonian. 6.56% of Darmenis speak Spanish. Unlike Acquan and Cotdelapomais French, Spanish is spoken not only by the Tamarindian community in New Darmen but also by the large number of Valladars and Darmeni-Valladars living in the southeast of the nation.

Five other minor languages are also spoken, primarily for religious reasons. They are Arabic (Muslim's, 3.3%), Hebrew (Jews, 2.75%), Pennsylvania Dutch (Amish, 0.03%), Iyaric (Rastafarians, 0.03%) and Chinese (Taoists, four total speakers in the whole nation).

17.2% of the nation is able to speak more than one language. In most cases, English serves as one of the languages spoken by multilingual speakers.

While the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals have been adopted by most languages; Arabic, Chinese and Hebrew are usually written with their respective alphabets or system of characters. Legonian also has its own alphabet, though it is rarely used, the Latin alphabet having been substituted in its place since the late 1990's.

Religion
Darmen is a predominately Christian nation. The Church of Darmen, an organization formed as a merger of the Holy Forden Church and multiple Protestant denominations, is the largest Christian denomination in Darmen, with 53.44% of Darmeni's claiming membership in the church. The Catholic Church is followed by 28.44% of the population, while the final Christian denomination, the Amish, has only 0.03% of the population adhering to its beliefs.

10.36% of the Darmeni population is Irreligious, with many being members of the Secular, Humanist, and Atheist Activist Society. The SHAAS was founded as an organization to help counter the influence of the two largest Christian denominations on Darmeni society.

Among non-Christian religions, 3.29% of Darmeni's are Muslims. Islam in Darmen is largely organized in a non-Denominational fashion, the distinction between Sunni and Shia, as well as other branches of the religion, having eroded some time ago. 2.74% are Jewish, predominantly Orthodox and Conservative, though there is a single Reform Synagogue in Scott City, and 1.34% are Buddhist.

0.31% of the Darmeni population follows a local folk religion revering the two godesses Violet and Margaret in their fight against the evil of Cxaxukluth. Practices of the religion include the sacrifice of rubber chickens to Margaret and the ritual consumption of large amounts of cheese during the full moon.

Other religions with only a small following include the Jehovah's Witnesses and Rastafarians, only 0.03% of Darmeni's identify with each of the groups; and Taoism, which, according to the Taoist Association of Darmen, has only three followers in the whole country.

Ethnicity
95.7% of the population considers themselves to be Darmeni. Darmeni's are considered to have at least some amount of aboriginal ancestry. This section of the population can be further broken down into six different subsections: Darmeni-White (86.05%), Darmeni-Arab (3.23%), Darmeni-Valladar (2.69%), Darmeni-Black (2.44%), Darmeni-Asian (1.27%) and Darmeni-Aboriginal (0.3%). The vast majority of Darmeni-Whites have descended from immigrants from an American, British, French, German or Irish origin. Most Jews living in Darmen also consider themselves to be Darmeni-White, despite their lack of aboriginal ancestry. Darmeni-Asian's are mostly of Hmong or Thai heritage. The Darmeni-Aboriginal group is unique in that almost all of citizens who identify as such claim pure aboriginal ancestry.

The Valladar ethnic group, made up of immigrants and permanent residents from Valladares makes up 2.14% of the total population, and is the largest group to not be considered Darmeni from an ethnic standpoint. The Southeast of the country is home to almost all of the Valladar's living in the country, together with most Darmeni-Valladar's. A large Valladar community also exists in the capital, Scott City.

Due to previous tensions between the Darmeni and Valladar governments regarding control of the Valladar Westlands that border the southeast of Darmen, tensions between the Valladar and Darmeni ethnic populations was once a major concern for both governments. These tensions occasionally turned violent. Relations between the two groups, as well as between both governments, have improved greatly in recent years, with only minor disturbances occurring between the most radical members of each group.

Darmen is also home to several other immigrant communities. They are: Cotdelapomais (0.7%), Acquan (0.52%), Tamarindian (0.43%) and Carmadese (0.1%). The Acquan and Tamarindian ethnic groups both have their origins as refugees to Darmen from their homelands. The Carmadese might also be considered refugees, as their nation no longer exists, but they originally settled in the northwest of Darmen prior to the collapse of their nation, working primarily in the film industry that exists in Liverpool.

0.13% of the population identifies as "Other".

Health
4.45% of Darmeni's are considered to be obese. The majority of hospitals in Darmen are operated by the National Health Board. There are also a number of private (both for-profit and non-profit) hospitals as well.