Location: Balder

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Great Forge of Gronde is a gargantuan, economically powerful nation, ruled by Leader with an iron fist, and renowned for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 16.379 billion are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it devotes most of its attentions to Defence, with areas such as the Environment and Social Welfare receiving almost no funds by comparison. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 34%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Arms Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, and Automobile Manufacturing industries.

Several citizens have complained about scientists abducting their pets for experimentation, the government is reining in public spending, the government extracts trade concessions from poor nations in exchange for humanitarian aid, and citizens drive tank-like vehicles with mounted machine guns. Crime is a major problem, probably because of the country's utter lack of prisons. Gronde's national animal is the manticore, which is also the nation's favorite main course, its national religion is Glorious Leaderism, and its currency is the Bling.

Gronde is ranked 1,951st in Balder and 94,598th in the world for Most Compassionate Citizens, scoring -343 on the Kitten Softness Rating.

Preview

NationStates by Max Barry, author of and