Location: the Pacific

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Holy Empire of Altesium is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by The Emperor with an even hand, and notable for its parental licensing program. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 2.522 billion are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The government -- a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass -- juggles the competing demands of Education, Defence, and Healthcare. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Seraphia. The average income tax rate is 40%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Tourism, and Gambling industries.

Newborns are being raised as mindless killing machines, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, priests are being drafted by the church load, and young children are regularly seen wagering pocket money at blackjack tables. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is moderate. Altesium's national animal is the Phoenix, its national religion is Sarcasm, and its currency is the Crown.

Altesium is ranked 3,564th in the Pacific and 83,056th in the world for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -3 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and