Location: the South Pacific

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Commonwealth of Westlia is a massive, socially progressive nation, ruled by Nigel Wheeler with a fair hand, and notable for its anti-smoking policies. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 1.83 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 concentrates mainly on Education, although Healthcare and Social Equality are secondary priorities. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Dartford. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 63%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Tourism industry, followed by Furniture Restoration and Book Publishing.

The government is spending billions of taxpayer Westlian Dollars to support the Tourism industry, organised sports are frowned upon as frivolous, ethnic minorities are often refused admission to some of the nation's best schools, and violently opinionated speakers can be heard preaching their hateful views on every street corner. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Westlia's national animal is the Kingfisher, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Westlian Dollar.

Westlia is ranked 3,645th in the South Pacific and 71,269th in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -15 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and