Spotlight on:

“Why worry?”

The Democratic States of Mancruff is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. Its quiet, industrious population of 6.076 billion are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government -- a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass -- juggles the competing demands of Defence, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 38%, but much higher for the wealthy. A substantial private sector is led by the Cheese Exports, Furniture Restoration, and Arms Manufacturing industries.

Voting is compulsory, school uniforms are compulsory, the government extracts trade concessions from poor nations in exchange for humanitarian aid, and heavy industry must go to expensive lengths to dispose of waste and avoid even more costly cleanup costs. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is relatively low, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Mancruff's national animal is the pliant, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the gop.

Mancruff is ranked 9th in the region and 28,712th in the world for Largest Basket Weaving Sector.