Location: Beyond the Sea

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Council of Paper Flowers is a massive, genial nation, ruled by Madame Lee with a fair hand, and notable for its keen interest in outer space. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 1.173 billion hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Welfare, and Healthcare. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Imaginary. The average income tax rate is 65%. A robust private sector is dominated by the Tourism industry.

The police have reaffirmed their tough stance on drugs, welfare funding has recently gone through the roof, anti-government web sites are springing up, and museums stand half-empty as all foreign exhibits are returned to their countries of origin. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Paper Flowers's national animal is the Lotus, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Origami.

Paper Flowers is ranked 13th in Beyond the Sea and 95,773rd in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -27 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and