Location: Lazarus

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Dictatorship of Styopa Utopia is a massive, devout nation, ruled by Steve Sop with an iron fist, and notable for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 1.21 billion are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt government stops and the rest of society begins, but it devotes most of its attentions to Defence, with areas such as Social Equality and Public Transport receiving almost no funds by comparison. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Styopa Utopia City. The average income tax rate is 86%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, followed by Information Technology and Tourism.

Many parents are becoming frustrated with their children's choices in spouses, a government program is underway to revitalize Styopa Utopia's beaches, citizens are encouraged to report friends, family members or co-workers who seem depressed to the government for "counselling", and the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Styopa Utopia's national animal is the Mardakhayev, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Sopdollo.

Styopa Utopia is ranked 2,843rd in Lazarus and 88,772nd in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -21 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

Preview

NationStates by Max Barry, author of and