The Great empire of all times of Torante is a massive, safe nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service, irreverence towards religion, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 1.799 billion Toranteans 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, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Talenberg. The average income tax rate is 56.4%.

The strong Torantean economy, worth 104 trillion Tears a year, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Automobile Manufacturing, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 57,862 Tears, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.7 times as much as the poorest.

Pet owners want to know why their animals keep smiling at them, police spend their Saturday nights breaking up illegal street races, hit TV show 'The eXecution Factor' is a critical success, and sociologists can charge whatever fee they like as the nation tries to find itself. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Torante's national animal is the Eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Torante is ranked 230,465^th in the world and 7,946^th in Lazarus for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 48.04 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.