Verska's Economy

Verska's Economy

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General Overview

Private companies are allowed in Verska, but limited to non-essential industries such as fishing and book publishing industries. Essential industries, including but not limited to the arms industry, gas extraction, and rare material mining industries are limited to nationalized companies. Contribution to the economy and the GDP largely came from naval-related industries such as ship manufacturing, shipping, and fishery industries.

The GDP of Verska is 2 trillion Akçes in 2022, with an average GDP per capita of 166,666 Akçes, with 5% of the population (about 600,000 people) living in poverty and homelessness. After taxes and other deductibles, the average disposable income of a Verskan is around 218,547 Akçes.

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Government budget

Verska's government budget had relatively stayed the same for the last decade. The largest sector with the highest amount of budget is the welfare system, followed by the education sector, and then the military. Administration comes fourth in terms of budget.

• The welfare system, accounting for 22% of the total budget, amounts to 133.7 billion Akçes or around US$ 6.6 billion.

• The education sector, with 16% of the total budget, amounts to around 97.2 billion Akçes or around US$ 4.8 billion.

• The Military sector, having 15% shares of the total budget, amounts to 91.2 billion Akçes or around US$ 4.5 billion.

• The administration of Verska has 10% of the total budget, which amounts to 60.8 billion Akçes or around US$ 3 billion.

• The remaining budget, which is 37% of the total budget, totals to around 224.9 billion Akçes or around US$ 11.2 billion. It consists of Infrastructure sector, policing sector, healthcare sector, etc.

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Industries in Verska

With ±2 trillion Akçes worth of nominal GDP, there are four main contributors, namely:

• The Ship manufacturing industry came first with 35% shares of contribution. It amounts to 700 billion Akçes per year or US$35 billion.

• The shipping industry is in second place, contributing 20% to the GDP. It amounts to 400 billion Akçes per year or US$ 20 billion.

• Ranked third, the beverages industry contributes 10% to the GDP. It amounts to 200 billion Akçes per year or US$ 10 billion.

• On the fourth place is the fishing industry which contributes 5% to the GDP. It amounts to 100 billion Akçes per year or US$ 5 billion.

The remaining shares of GDP contributors are industries like furniture restoration, paper manufacturing, book publishing, mining, agriculture, and many others. However, the top four contributors do not hold the most jobs in Verska. In fact, the top four contributors merely hold 15% of the labour force.

Most working populations are working in the furniture industry, book publishing industry, and farm-related (including plantations) industries; these industries have around 50% of the labour force.

Major Export and Import of Goods

Goods	Produced (Yearly)	Exported (Yearly)	Imported (Yearly)
Fish	2,400,000 Tons	1,100,000 Tons	120,000 Tons
Tea	105,000 Tons	73,000 Tons	1,800 Tons
Sago	68,000 Tons	15,000 Tons	-
Coffee	27,000 Tons	12,000 Tons	2,200 Tons
Dry Kelp	30,000 Tons	10,000 Tons	500 Tons
Date Fruit	3,000 Tons	500 Tons	800 Tons
Iron Ore	72,000 Tons	-	51,000 Tons
Oil	12,775,000 Barrels	-	59,925,000 Barrels

Fish
In total, there are around 2.4 million tons of fish being harvested or caught. Fish are either caught from the sea or harvested from aquaculture. 60% of all fish produced in Verska are from aquaculture, while the rest (40%) are caught. Fish is a popular ingredient in Verskan dishes. Most fish that are exported have been processed into a product (canned fish, etc.) rather than being sent as it is.

Tea
Tea plantations usually exist in Scavasul Province's southern part where the elevation is generally higher, but it also exists in other provinces as well. Generally, the tea in the southern Scavasul Province is higher in quality, but the yield is lower due to the elevation (which means lower temperature). Tea plantations in other places have higher yields but have lower quality.

Tea has been cultivated for several hundred years, but the first time it was cultivated is unknown. Early research concluded that tea was first cultivated in Verska during the late Harli Dynasty, around the 7th century AD. But lately, there is a growing theory that tea began to be cultivated during the middle of the Jrasa Dynasty, more precisely around the 10th century AD.

Sago
Sago is the staple food of Verskans, most likely cultivated before the 5th century AD as the Saga of the Ancient Warring States mentioned the existence of Sago River, a river with sago plantation on the bank of the river.

Coffee
Coffee gained popularity in late 17th century Verska, and started to be cultivated massively in the early 18th century AD. Even so, the popularity of coffee is still lower than tea, as the latter has been in Verska longer than the former. Today, coffee is very popular among fishermen who sail at night to do fishing or when they are caught in the middle of a storm. Half of the coffee exported is turned into a product before being sent away, rather than exported in its bean form.

Dry Kelp
Kelp cultivation experienced massive growth from the 1940s to the 1950s when aquaculture was given by the then Fishing Association (now called Fishing Federation). Although aquaculture was aimed at boosting fish harvest, over time it also encompasses kelp cultivation.

Date Fruit
Date fruits are mostly exported in dry form, but at least 15% of it are turned into processed products like date-flavoured canned tea.

Iron Ore
Verska lacked a huge iron ore deposit, which led it to import iron for several centuries. Before the 1800s, iron was not a major import since its demand was low. But the Industrial Revolution, alongside technological advancement, made a lot of products need iron as the base material. The low availability of iron ore (thus low yield) in Verska, there is no export of it.

Oil
Verska produced 12,775,000 Barrels of oils yearly, that is 35,000 barrels a day. Just like iron ore, due to the low availability of oil (thus low yield) in Verska, there is no export of oil.

Imports of oil, on the other hand, are around 59,925,000 Barrels of oil yearly. This equates to 145,000 barrels per day, almost five times higher than the production of oil.

Major Companies and Commercial Groups
Senriodu Furniture: A company that focuses on producing wooden furniture and restoring old furniture. Started as a furniture restoration company, it branched into furniture production midway through its existence. Currently, it has the highest amount of employees amongst other companies in Verska. Although most of the customers are domestic ones, foreign customers have begun to rise in numbers in recent years.

Fishing Federation: Previously named Fishing Association, the name changed in 1983 to its current name. Fishing Federation is not a company, but a collection of independent fishermen who formed a group. Fishing Federation acts not only to help new fishermen or those who are having bad days in fishing, but also to make sure that bigger companies (foreign or domestic companies) will not crush independent fishermen. Membership is not mandatory but encouraged by the government; applying does not incur any fees.

Fatih Papers and Publishing: Fatih Papers and Publishing does business in paper making and book publishing, it is also the oldest still running business in Verska.

Jala International Transport Service: A private shipping company, it was a merger of several smaller shipping companies.

Verska Seafarer Dockyard: A ship manufacturing company, semi-nationalized company. 80% owned by the government, this company mainly produce merchant vessels or fishing ships.

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Currency
The national currency of Verska is Akçe which is valued at 20 Akçe for 1 US dollar. Verska's currency changed form over the years it has existed, but in the early 20th century it adopted paper-based currency that contained small amounts of precious metals. Up to this day, the Akçe still contained precious metals spread out on the paper. Therefore, the nominal value and the inherent value of the bill are the same. Coins are still used but usually made with a value of more than 1000 Akçe, examples of this are 1000 Akçe coin, 2,500 coins, and 5,000 Akçe coin. Paper bills, on the other hand, have values of less than 900 Akçe, examples of this are 100 Akçe bill, 20 Akçe bill, and 5 Akçe bill.

With that, Akçe coins are more valuable than paper bill due to its higher content of precious metals. Most tourists need to adjust to this as it is the opposite of other countries where coin have less value/denomination than paper bill.

The types and amount of precious metals contained in the paper-based currency vary according to the denomination; so, 1 Akçe bill contains either less valuable metal or less amount of the same precious metal than 10 Akçe bill.

Example of the Akçe in coin form:

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