Location: The Black Hawks

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Lieutenant Hawk of Spartzerium is a colossal, safe nation, remarkable for its punitive income tax rates. Its hard-nosed, cynical population of 6.474 billion are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, moralistic government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Religion & Spirituality. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Spartzerium City. The average income tax rate is 74%, and even higher for the wealthy. A substantial private sector is led by the Trout Farming industry, followed by Cheese Exports and Tourism.

Citizens are barcoded to keep track of their movements, wealthy parents-to-be can select their perfect baby, hunters have been known to lose limbs while attempting to 'play tag' with their prey, and the government funds private schools for intellectually gifted children. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Spartzerium's national animal is the not Spartzy, which is also the nation's favorite main course, its national religion is a major religion, and its currency is the spartze.

Spartzerium is ranked 106th in The Black Hawks and 78,766th in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -17 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and