Location: the South Pacific

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Ghost Grey Penguin of --TAO-- is a colossal, socially progressive nation, ruled by TAO the Wanderer with an iron fist, and renowned for its keen interest in outer space. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 7.231 billion are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it is effectively ruled by the Department of Defence, with areas such as the Environment and Social Welfare receiving almost no funds by comparison. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of --TAO-- City. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 39%. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry.

The state has declared war on the environment and environmentalists by association, lending firms are subject to strict government regulations, only vaccinated citizens may have free healthcare, and travel bureaus double as recruiting centers for national intelligence agencies. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is crippling. --TAO--'s national animal is the grumpha, which is also the nation's favorite main course, its national religion is Antimarsupialism, and its currency is the 17jan2010 grumpha.

--TAO-- is ranked 2,360th in the South Pacific and 73,576th in the world for Most Extreme, scoring 16 on the Paul-Nader Subjective Decentrality Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and