Editing Hesperida (section)

== Demographics ==

===Languages===
English is the most common language in Hesperida, driven by Opthelian interventionism and trade across the continent.  Western Hesperida was most directly affected due to its proximity, but Haesanite marketplaces became another early vector for its spread.  It is now the primary commercial language in nearly every nation, even in those like Taragai and Lao Sansong which are relatively isolated from international markets.  Spanish is a national language of many countries on the continent as a result of the influence of the Costenan Empire, notably Lauchenoiria, Aredoa, and Slokais. Haean, despite historical efforts to restrict the language's use in both Haesan and High Fells, is spoken by over 100 million people.  Rén is the most commonly spoken language in Laeral, although it often classified as Francophone, along with Acadia, and much of northern Haesan.

===Religions===
Hesperida is a religiously diverse continent, in large part driven by the strength of its home grown religions, particularly in the eastern portion of the continent.  [[Minjian]] is one of the most widely practiced religions on the continent, with large populations of practitioners in Laeral, High Fells, and the Slokais Islands.  [[Celestialism]] is also widely practiced amongst Haesanites, in Misumi, amongst the Pharitayan elite, and more broadly amongst the Haean diaspora.  Western Hesperida is home to naturalistic religions like [[Lurian|Lurianism]] and [[Zongongism]], although they never established extensive missionary networks like their eastern counterparts and remained highly geographically localized.

However, most on the continent practice some form of religion that came from abroad, most commonly Christianity.  Catholicism is the most dominant form of Christianity due largely to the influence of the French, who colonized Laeral, Greater Acadia, and parts of Haesan.  Sanctarian interventions in Slokais and missionary efforts elsewhere, particularly in former colonies of the Costenan Empire have led a large contingent of Hesperidan Catholics practicing the more reform [[Sanctarian Catholic Church|Sanctarian Catholicism]], but Catholics are about split between Sanctus and Rome.  Protestantism has been more widely effective in recent years, with its homebase in former Valahandian colonies like Libertas Omnium Maximus.  Protestantism has recently found support amongst immigrant communities in countries like Haesan and has long had a foothold in nations like Zongongia and Greater Acadia.  Islam reached the Slokasian Island chain from Nerian travelers over a millennia ago, and continues to have many devout followers in eastern Hesperida, particularly in Mallacaland, Pharitaya, and Kajian Island in Slokais.

Atheism and agnosticism have been on the rise across the continent, particularly amongst urban youth.  This has been a nearly universal trend, affecting locales as diverse as Annatown, Hanshui, and Vahania, and shows no sign of slowing down.

===Populace===
Hesperida is a land of great ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity.  While portions of western Hesperida like Greater Acadia, Lauchenoiria, and Kerlile have large distances between their urban hubs and have some of the lowest population densities in the IDU, the eastern portion of the country is highly urbanized and densely populated.  Suyang, Seimei, Laeralsford, and Puri Rimbawan all are sprawling megacities, while New Liverpool and Iustitia City are smaller in absolute numbers but are at the core of dense urban agglomerations which comprise a significant proportion of their nations' population.  In eastern Hesperida, it is not uncommon to have four in five residents in a nation living in an urban area; this is most stark in Misumi, where over 90% of residents live in a city.  In the western portions of the continent, excepting the city-state of Grundhavn, this level of density is unheard of.

Hesperidans typically have longer than average lifespans, driven by rapid growth in many of the continent's poorest nations since the 1980s.  Hesperidans are usually a bit healthier than the average IDUvian, either due for a penchant for the outdoors like in many western nations, notably Lauchenoiria, or as a result of diet and constitution as in the case in many eastern countries like Haesan.  However, due to social stigma and other societal pressures, many eastern Hesperidan countries have high rates of stress and anxiety, much of which goes undiagnosed.  Other illnesses, like eating disorders, are also disproportionately common in those nations.