The Republic of The Shadows 88 is a massive, socially progressive nation, notable for its absence of drug laws and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-working, cynical population of 2.158 billion Shadows 88ians enjoy great individual freedoms in everything except elections, which, where they exist at all, are populist shams for a dictatorship government that has no intention of ever giving up power.

The relatively small, liberal, pro-business, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Welfare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 10.8%.

The very strong Shadows 88ian economy, worth 106 trillion rubledollars a year, is led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Woodchip Exports, and Furniture Restoration. Average income is 49,578 rubledollars, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 201,019 per year while the poor average 8,139, a ratio of 24.7 to 1.

Crime is a serious problem. The Shadows 88's national animal is the hawk, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities.

The Shadows 88 is ranked 255,752^nd in the world and 1^st in Kalzarath for Safest, scoring 15.9 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.