The Queen of Soul of Aretha Franklin is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by Soul Queen with a fair hand, and remarkable for its vat-grown people, strictly enforced bedtime, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic, humorless population of 12.421 billion Aretha Franklinians live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The medium-sized, corrupt, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Detroit. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 87.9%.

The frighteningly efficient Aretha Franklinian economy, worth a remarkable 3,443 trillion Chains of Fools a year, is mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Book Publishing, Information Technology, Soda Sales, and Retail. Average income is an amazing 277,261 Chains of Fools, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 974,541 per year while the poor average 57,168, a ratio of 17.0 to 1.

Harassed women are constantly hassled by guys who are "just giving them compliments", witches' brews set off Geiger counters, savvy students quote paywalled research knowing that university lecturers can't afford to check the citations, and a politician who is photographed pulling a funny face while eating can say goodbye to their credibility. Crime is relatively low, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Aretha Franklin's national animal is the Think, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Agnostic Pantheism.

Aretha Franklin is ranked 280,247^th in the world and 285^th in NationStates for Safest, scoring 5.38 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.