The Department of Charente is a mammoth, cultured nation, ruled by Philippe Bouty with an iron fist, and renowned for its public floggings, compulsory military service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The cynical, devout population of 7.452 billion Charentaises are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Angoulême. The average income tax rate is 35.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Charentais economy, worth 436 trillion francs a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Trout Farming, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 58,624 francs, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.4 times as much as the poorest.

Appendix transplant figures have recently doubled, the arms industry is strictly regulated, new religious sects are squashed immediately by the government, and children seem to be getting better at lying these days. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Charente's national animal is the lion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Roman Catholicism.

Charente is ranked 113,622^nd in the world and 62^nd in Department Store for Most Advanced Law Enforcement, scoring 2,221.55 on the Orwell Orderliness Index.