Location: Osiris

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Democratic Republic of Palenque is a huge, safe nation, notable for its devotion to social welfare. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 733 million love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, socially-minded government stops and the rest of society begins, but it devotes most of its attentions to Social Welfare, with areas such as Commerce and Social Equality receiving almost no funds by comparison. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Palenque City. The average income tax rate is 57%, and even higher for the wealthy. Private enterprise is illegal, but for those in the know there is a slick and highly efficient black market in Gambling.

A niche industry catering to S&M enthusiasts has sprung up, colleges adhere to rigid ethnic quotas for admissions, Palenque has designated Palenque City as its capital city, and movies and computer games are strictly censored for violence. Crime is totally unknown. Palenque's national animal is the Serpent, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Peso.

Palenque is ranked 636th in Osiris and 23,665th in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -10 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and