The Free Land of Upper Ryu Lorty is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Mister Leader with an even hand, and remarkable for its ban on automobiles, frequent executions, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, devout population of 1.225 billion Upper Ryu-Lortyians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Loryuer. The average income tax rate is 58.0%.

The sizeable but inefficient Upper Ryu Lortyian economy, worth 52.5 trillion octothorpes a year, is quite specialized and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Arms Manufacturing, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 42,853 octothorpes, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.8 times as much as the poorest.

A ban on unsolicited cold calling in all forms is in effect, there's no more bridging into Upper Ryu Lortyian ports, inheritance tax has recently been abolished, and city workers have declared that rolling markets aren't good for business after all. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Upper Ryu Lorty's national animal is the thylacine, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Ryuanism.

Upper Ryu Lorty is ranked 250,801^st in the world and 4,562^nd in the South Pacific for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring -7.35 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.