The Commonwealth of Arboreal Animals is a massive, orderly nation, renowned for its frequent executions, keen interest in outer space, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, cynical, devout population of 2.816 billion Arboreal Animalsians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 55.3%.

The powerhouse Arboreal Animalsian economy, worth 260 trillion Trees 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 black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Woodchip Exports, and Beef-Based Agriculture. 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 92,473 Trees, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 420,847 per year while the poor average 12,421, a ratio of 33.9 to 1.

Captains must wait until all rats are safe before jumping ship, obstetricians are not allowed to publish ultrasound pictures of fetuses in medical journals, the government considers it a sacred duty to video bikini-clad beach swimmers, and tombstones are ten feet high to accommodate the names of inhabitants. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Arboreal Animals's national animal is the Koala, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Arboreal Animals is ranked 16,155^th in the world and 1^st in Non Aligned Movement for Most Patriotic, with 56.91 flags saluted per person per day.