Location: the West Pacific

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Enlightened Colony of The Arrogant Bumblebees is a massive, economically powerful nation, ruled by Queen Bumblebee with an even hand, and remarkable for its national health service. Its hard-nosed, intelligent population of 2.076 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 is mainly concerned with Education, although the Environment and Healthcare are on the agenda. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Godforsaken Town of Bumblebees. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 89%. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Book Publishing industry.

Citizens are encouraged to report friends, family members or co-workers who seem depressed to the government for "counselling", military spending is on the increase, most citizens in The Arrogant Bumblebees are abject pyrophobes after extremely graphic pamphlets were mailed nationwide by the government, and the nanny industry has had a boom after maternity leave was recently banned. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Arrogant Bumblebees's national animal is the Cuckoo Bumblebee, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the Silver Tic Tac.

The Arrogant Bumblebees is ranked 4,164th in the West Pacific and 99,511th in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -37 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and