The Ongoing State of Absentia is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by youse with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, vat-grown people, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 38.311 billion Absentians 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.

The tiny, corrupt government prioritizes Education, with Industry, Administration, and Environment also on the agenda, while Spirituality and Defense receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Middle of Nowhere. The average income tax rate is 8.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Absentian economy, worth an astonishing 20,546 trillion ergs 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 large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Tourism, Book Publishing, and Retail. 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 a breathtaking 536,305 ergs, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Signs at the border tell international drivers where they can put their cars, the news is showing footage of youse bullying an old man to the point of tears, transgender and agender are on the education agenda, and pareidolic SETI scientists swear there's a message from aliens hidden within pi. Crime is totally unknown. Absentia's national animal is the cambot, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Absentia is ranked 26,710^th in the world and 1^st in CDW Federation for Most Corrupt Governments, with 48.42 Kickbacks Per Hour.