The Republic of Cestalis is a small, efficient nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service, irreverence towards religion, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 32 million Cestalisians are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The tiny, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 6.5%.

The thriving Cestalisian economy, worth 2.00 trillion Cestias a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, and Soda Sales. Average income is 62,608 Cestias, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 221,613 per year while the poor average 12,770, a ratio of 17.4 to 1.

Crime is a problem. Cestalis's national animal is the Spotted Hawk, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities.

Cestalis is ranked 204,007^th in the world and 6,317^th in the Pacific for Highest Drug Use, scoring 86.43 on the Pineapple Fondness Rating.