The Republic of Bankowiata is a small, safe nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 45 million Bankowiatans are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 69.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but underdeveloped Bankowiatan economy, worth 1.81 trillion Virtual Coins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Cheese Exports, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Retail. Average income is 40,245 Virtual Coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Bankowiata City's flashy holiday light displays can be seen from space, much of Bankowiata's computer network is controlled by a rampant artificial intelligence, no one is quite sure what many government officials look like, and a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bankowiata's national animal is the Hedgehog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Bankowiata is ranked 48,758^th in the world and 2,321^st in The North Pacific for Highest Poor Incomes, with 38,693.42 Standard Monetary Units.