Location: Europe

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Kingdom of Vitalan is a massive, devout nation, ruled by HM King Nisael IX with a fair hand, and notable for its anti-smoking policies. Its compassionate, hard-working, intelligent population of 3.938 billion enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Defence, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 98%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Tourism, and Gambling industries.

Loans are available for students from poor families, expats return home to a government devoid of social and environmental agencies, only fully-fledged members of MENSA are allowed to vote, and the government recently relinquished its monopoly on the mail service. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Vitalan's national animal is the Aguila, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the Niza.

Vitalan is ranked 476th in Europe and 98,571st in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -34 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and