The Commonwealth of Barok van Zieks is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by Lord Barok van Zieks with an even hand, and notable for its state-planned economy, keen interest in outer space, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, cynical population of 3.404 billion Barok van Ziekians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Merlot. The average income tax rate is 66.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Barok van Zieksian economy, worth 48.8 trillion pounds a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is dominated by the Basket Weaving industry, with significant contributions from Door-to-door Insurance Sales, Trout Farming, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 14,343 pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

It is illegal to distribute Girl Guide Cookies without an advanced food hygiene diploma, sales of disinfectant wipes have skyrocketed, five-year-olds chanting "Little Miss Muffet" are accused of bullying arachnophobes, and Lord Barok van Zieks's Twitcher account is once again only used for bragging about the government's accomplishments. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Barok van Zieks's national animal is the vampire, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Barok van Zieks is ranked 203,906^th in the world and 2,011^th in Ambition for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 296.05 on the Gilded Widget Scale.