Location: Canada

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Hippopotamus Sized Kingdom of Old Ogastein is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Julia Gillard with an even hand, and remarkable for its suspicion of poets. Its hard-nosed, hard-working population of 12.049 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 concentrates mainly on Law & Order, although Social Welfare and Education are secondary priorities. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Laurel Ayres. The average income tax rate is 79%, and even higher for the wealthy. The private sector is almost wholly made up of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out.

Nursing mothers are often arrested for indecent exposure, fur coats have become the latest fashion trend, the nation refuses to provide international aid, and almost half of the child population live rough on the streets. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Old Ogastein's national animal is the great horned owl, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the opal.

Old Ogastein is ranked 136th in Canada and 52,806th in the world for Most Politically Free, scoring 50 on the Diebold Election Inking Scale.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and