Recherche

Commonwealth of Recherche
Anthem	'Forever Free'
Capital	Esperance
Official language	English
Recognised languages	Malalog
	Italian
Demographics	Recherchean	61.8%
	Austronesian	14.9%
	British	6.2%
	Maddelenian	3.9%
	Irish	3.5%
	Italian	2.8%
	Australian	2.2%
	South African	1.6%
	Indian	1.3%
	New Zealander	0.8%
Government	Federal Parliamentary Democracy
	Constitutional Monarchy
Prime Minister	Ian Palmer
Parliament	Upper House - Senate
	House of Representatives
Independence	2nd January 1866
Area	Total - 206,685km
	Water - 1.2%
	Coastline - 12,397km
Population	2016 estimate	46,321,030
	2011 census	42,036,175
Economy	GCP (nominal)	$2.85 trillion
	Per capita	$61,500
HDI (2016)	Increasing 0.938
Currency	Recherche Dollar (RCD)
Time zone	GMT+7 (UTC+7)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the	Left
Internet TLD	.rc
Calling code	+610

History

Main article: History of Recherche

First discovered by the Dutch in the 17th Century and explored by both the French and British in the early 18th Century, Recherche was settled by the British in 1755 as a free colony and to act as an outpost against possible French aggression in the area. The colony of Recherche grew gradually over time, but it was not until the beginning of the industrial age that the population really started to grow and flourish. By the late 19th Century, the population was calling to become independent of the United Kingdom, thus in 1886 after a nationwide referendum Recherche became federated and began to establish itself within the international community as a nation. By the middle of the 20th Century, Recherche was becoming an eminent trade port within the British Empire and increasingly within the wider region. Recherche has participated in all wars involving the United Kingdom to some extent since becoming federated, usually fighting alongside Australia and New Zealand.

Government

Main articles: Government of Recherche and Politics of Recherche

Recherche is a constitutional monarchy that uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II as the Queen of Recherche, represented by the Governor-General at Federal level and by the Governors of each state. Recherche has a bicameral parliament, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the two major political parties – the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party – holding the majority of the seats.

States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Recherche

Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign relations of Recherche and Recherche Armed Forces

Recherche enjoys excellent relations with all nations within the Anglosphere - especially Australia and the United Kingdom. It was a founding member of the United Nations, an active member of the Commonwealth of Nations, a member of RAZDDA, ARNZUS, ASEAN and the Six Power Defence Arrangement. Recherche is striving to achieve better relations with the nations within Southeast Asia, and much of its foreign aid goes to this area. Recherche has also established free trade agreements with Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and China.

Geography and climate

Main articles: Geography of Recherche and Climate of Recherche

The nation of Recherche sits within the Recherche Archipelago that contains over 4500 individual islands which are part of the Ninety East Ridge in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago was a major shipping hazard until relatively recently, with many merchant vessels lost after running aground on the many uncharted reefs and shoals, but these losses declined as updated charts were released before and after World War 2.

Climate

Recherche straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, and as a result the climate varies between Humid subtropical in the north and east of the country, and a Mediterranean climate in the south and west of the country. Recherche experiences prevailing winds from the southeast, and the sea breezes that develop can be predicted almost like clockwork.

Environment

Main article: Environment of Recherche

Economy

Main article: Economy of Recherche

See also: Transport in Recherche and Tourism in Recherche

Recherche has a market economy with high GDP per capita and low rate of poverty, and the Recherche Dollar is the currency of the nation. It is currently the 8th largest economy in the world. The main industries are mining, petroleum and natural gas, agriculture, electronics, transport equipment, shipbuilding, steel, food processing, automotive and tourism. Due to its export of large quantities of commodities, the economy has been less affected by the global recession and continues to show growth (although slowed in recent years).

Infastructure and transport

Recherche possesses an extensive and effective highway/freeway system which connects all major cities and towns on each island, and is backed up by a high speed rail network. Aircraft provide the majority of inter-island travel and most towns have access to an airport of some kind, however passenger and car ferries also operate continuously between the various islands and communities. The Port of Esperance is a major trade hub in the region and is the 10th busiest port in the world by cargo tonnage.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Recherche, Immigration to Recherche and List of cities in Recherche by population

Largest cities in Recherche
Rank	Name		State	Population	Rank	Name		State	Population
1	Esperance		State	4,785,367	11	West Beach		State	906,210
2	Norseman		State	4,221,518	12	Howick		State	730,020
3	Ravensthorpe		State	3,125,083	13	Merivale		State	645,127
4	Condingup		State	2,384,109	14	Neridup		State	584,981
5	Munglinup		State	1,813,558	15	Lort River		State	410,282
6	Hopetoun		State	1,596,065	16	Dalyup		State	406,198
7	Israelite Bay		State	1,351,647	17	Sinclair		State	327,417
8	Castletown		State	1,157,920	18	Scaddan		State	298,143
9	Gibson		State	1,043,440	19	Chadwick		State	214,560
10	Cascade		State	927,156	20	Myrup		State	205,781

Culture

Main article: Culture of Recherche

Sport

Main article: Sport in Recherche