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Region: Forest

Lura wrote:It seems that many nations don't accept in-game stats as 'canon' for their nation, and population is the one stat accepted as canon least often, largely due to how unrealistic it is.

I've been attempting to develop the lore of my nation in its planet canon, and I'm thinking of making it the canon of my NS nation too.

In my planetary canon, Lura is a planet about a 1/3 the size of Earth (subject to change, but smaller than Earth for sure), but the population is rather low and reasonably constant, with a fertility rate around replacement rate and negligible immigration because the government discourages it. I haven't yet determined the population of Lura properly, but I'd probably set it to 2 billion or less.

I formulated some fairly accurate population conversion calculations a while back that you may find helpful. You can find the dispatch here:

As we all know, NS Statistics are not particularly realistic for RP purposes particularly when it comes to national populations. That being the case, I have devised the following methods of converting NS stats to a rough equivalent in RW stats. When using these formulas, the following definitions apply:

NSP = Nationstates Population
SRPP = Simple Roleplay Population
BRPP = Basic Roleplay Population
ARPP = Advanced Roleplay Population
ALM = Available Land Mass

The first, and simplest, method will result in a population ranging from slightly smaller than modern day China to somewhat larger than Vatican City:

NSP*0.034184=SRPP

The above method is easy and gives a good general range but is not particularly precise. For somewhat more precision and control, use the following conversion which best matches your NSP:

If NSP=5mil-461mil then: NSP*0.000005=BRPP
If NSP=462mil-907mil then: NSP*0.00004=BRPP
If NSP=908mil-364mil then: NSP*0.0003=BRPP
If NSP=365mil-1.3bil then: NSP*0.001=BRPP
If NSP=1.4bil-1.8bil then: NSP*0.002=BRPP
If NSP=1.9bil-10bil then: NSP*0.001=BRPP
If NSP=10.1bil-18bil then: NSP*0.0008=BRPP
If NSP=18.1bil-26.1bil then: NSP*0.001=BRPP
If NSP=26.2bil-34.1bil then: NSP*0.002=BRPP
If NSP=34.2bil+ then: NSP*0.02=BRPP

Again, the above method is relatively easy and will give you a RP population that is closer to real world populations. However, there are other factors that could be used to give us an even more precise and realistic number. Specifically, available land mass and population density. If you have not already determined the available land mass for your nation, you can use the following simple calculation:

If Nation is Extremely Low Density: SRPP/10.34=ALM in km2
If Nation is Low Density: SRPP/26.67=ALM in km2
If Nation is Growing Low Density: SRPP/43.00=ALM in km2
If Nation is Below Average Density: SRPP/64.17=ALM in km2
If Nation is Average Density: SRPP/85.33=ALM in km2
If Nation is Above Average Density: SRPP/134.83=ALM in km2
If Nation is High Density: SRPP/184.33=ALM in km2
If Nation is Growing High Density: SRPP/3777.50=ALM in km2
If Nation is Extremely High Density: SRPP/7370.67=ALM in km2

Once you have determined your available landmass, or if you have already determined your available landmass, you can use it and your preferred population density to determine an even more accurate RP population by using the appropriate calculation below:

If Nation is Extremely Low Density: (ALM*10.34)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Low Density: (ALM*26.67)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Growing Low Density: (ALM*43.00)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Below Average Density: (ALM*64.17)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Average Density: (ALM*85.33)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Above Average Density: (ALM*134.83)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is High Density: (ALM*184.33)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Growing High Density: (ALM*3777.50)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP
If Nation is Extremely High Density: (ALM*7370.67)+(BRPP)/2=ARPP

The above should give you a pretty accurate population level for early-modern to post-modern periods and technology. However, this can vary significantly at other times and tech levels. Below are a few simple calculations for those of other tech and eras (if you have a mix of high and low tech, it is probably best just to use the standard numbers given above instead):

If Nation is Extremely Low Tech: ARPP*0.0128= Final ARPP
If Nation is Low Magic or Low Tech: ARPP*0.0504= Final ARPP
If Nation is Magic or Early to Post Modern Tech: ARPP*1.0000= Final ARPP
If Nation is High Magic or High Tech: ARPP*1.0945= Final ARPP
If Nation is Extremely High Tech: ARPP*1.3723= Final ARPP

The above should serve well for most RP purposes, however it does throw off the NS GDP. The simplest way to correct your nation's GDP for this variation is to multiply your RP population by the currency per person given in the Economy tab for your nation.

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