The Republic of Botelia is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Andrea Quagliata with a fair hand, and remarkable for its national health service, suspicion of poets, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 1.028 billion Botelians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Valceglio. The average income tax rate is 18.8%.

The strong Botelian economy, worth 63.1 trillion Argels a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Furniture Restoration industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Average income is 61,343 Argels, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.1 times as much as the poorest.

Home renovation shows are increasingly popular, Andrea Quagliata has just been declared ruler of Botelia in an international press conference, student exchange programs are in trouble as everyone wants to leave but no-one wants to come, and the "blue screen of death" forces many trials to be either aborted or restarted. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent. Botelia's national animal is the dolphin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Botelia is ranked 145,395^th in the world and 1,028^th in Europe for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 627.46 on the Gilded Widget Scale.