Location: Prometheus

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Greater Empire of Altane is a colossal, safe nation, ruled by HIM Holy Emperor Victor XX with an even hand, and renowned for its complete lack of prisons. Its hard-nosed population of 6.293 billion have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Defence, Law & Order, and Religion & Spirituality. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Raultome. The average income tax rate is 65%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Woodchip Exports industries.

There has been a series of riots between local cannibals and health food advocates, emergency room admissions for 'stampede injuries' have skyrocketed since the introduction of weekly Sabbath Eve sales, the newspaper industry is subsidised by the government in order to keep it afloat, and police conduct weekly raids looking for contraband cheeseburgers. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Altane's national animal is the Bvidar, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, its national religion is Altanian Christianity, and its currency is the Altane Credit.

Altane is ranked 3rd in Prometheus and 19,380th in the world for Largest Public Sector, scoring 16 on the Bureaucratic Comprehensiveness Rating Scale Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and