The Kingdom of Bardopia is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by King Bard the first of His name with an even hand, and notable for its keen interest in outer space, national health service, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate population of 1.23 billion Bardopians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Bardopolis. The average income tax rate is 90.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Bardopian economy, worth 132 trillion Bardollars a year, is quite specialized and mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 107,324 Bardollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

The education system is being cleansed of all corporate influence, flu research is commonly shut down for fear of creating a superbug, the experimental sculpture "Overtures In Dried Bear Dung" has been declared a national treasure, and the cruise missile launchers on the field hospital roof are purely deterrent in purpose. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bardopia's national animal is the Bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Bardism.

Bardopia is ranked 13,668^th in the world and 733^rd in The North Pacific for Smartest Citizens, with 77.87 quips per hour.