The Empire of Shalum is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Imperator Tyler Holland with an even hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, sprawling nuclear power plants, and keen interest in outer space. The hard-nosed, devout population of 23.675 billion Shalumites enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Healthcare, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Aragon. The average income tax rate is 93.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Shalumite economy, worth a remarkable 3,324 trillion Dollars a year, is quite specialized and dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 140,407 Dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Claiming to have performed the Heimlich Maneuver is a popular defense for assault charges, school history books often refer to Imperator Tyler Holland as "that imperialist pig dog", Shalum isn't what it used to be, and the inside lane of every highway is for parked vehicles only. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shalum's national animal is the Cuderae, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Roman Catholicism.

Shalum is ranked 258,245^th in the world and 8,967^th in Osiris for Nicest Citizens, with 0.89 average smiles per day.