The Republic of Branch Island is a massive, orderly nation, renowned for its parental licensing program, ubiquitous missile silos, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, cynical, devout population of 3.132 billion Branch Islandians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 58.0%.

The all-consuming Branch Islandian economy, worth 268 trillion Golds a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Cheese Exports, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 85,713 Golds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.1 times as much as the poorest.

Rumor has it that Leader has won three lotteries in a row, cane fights are a common sight in nursing homes, shelters struggle to keep up with the endless intake of stray animals, and acrimonious legal battles result during divorce proceedings. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Branch Island's national animal is the Clam, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to heavy metals seepage into national waterways.

Branch Island is ranked 57,796^th in the world and 390^th in The grimy backyard of Bigej for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 130.5 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.