The Protectorate of Cat342 is a colossal, socially progressive nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The democratic population of 3.976 billion Cat342ians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 60.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Cat342ian economy, worth 72.7 trillion Mice a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Door-to-door Insurance Sales, Book Publishing, Basket Weaving, and Uranium Mining. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 18,273 Mice, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Cat342's national animal is the Cat.

Cat342 is ranked 79,171^st in the world and 3,987^th in Osiris for Nicest Citizens, with 15.51 average smiles per day.