Location: Australia

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Sanctus Rex is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by The First Consul for Life with an even hand, and notable for its sprawling nuclear power plants. Its compassionate, hard-working, intelligent population of 15.213 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 juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Religion & Spirituality, and Education. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sanctus Rex City. The average income tax rate is 16%. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry.

The government is financing an extremely costly war against malaria, motorists' locations are constantly tracked by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, and the latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Sanctus Rex's national animal is the Kestrel, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Sovereign.

Sanctus Rex is ranked 37th in Australia and 98,341st in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -33 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and