The Republic of Candelaria And Marquez is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by President Fanny Tan with an even hand, and renowned for its punitive income tax rates, restrictive gun laws, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate population of 29.213 billion Candelariasians 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, Welfare, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Albrecht. The average income tax rate is 76.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The enormous but inefficient Candelariasian economy, worth a remarkable 1,173 trillion reformed pounds a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology and Gambling. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 40,157 reformed pounds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Modelling agencies send their clients to work in nursing homes, sections of the police receive paramilitary training, nine-year-olds' chat logs are scoured for evidence of radicalization, and politicians sweat as journalists scour internet archives for any mention of them. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Candelaria And Marquez's national animal is the giant toad called Hope, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Candelaria And Marquez is ranked 9,975^th in the world and 19^th in Rushmore for Largest Welfare Programs, scoring 4,812.9 on the Safety Net Mesh Density Rating.