The Byzantine Empire of Constantinolia is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Andronikos VI with an iron fist, and remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, national health service, and flagrant waste-dumping. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 10.297 billion Byzantines are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The tiny, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Constantinople. The average income tax rate is 7.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Byzantine economy, worth a remarkable 1,958 trillion hyperpyrons a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Retail, and Gambling. Black market activity is extensive. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 190,233 hyperpyrons, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Playing an online nation simulation game legally obliges you to buy the creator's latest novel, the reams of paperwork accompanying any electronic item are a recognised contributor to national deforestation, where your food came from is an unknowable mystery, and glamping Byzantines won't sleep in a tent that doesn't include a Jacuzzi. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Constantinolia's national animal is the eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Catholicism.

Constantinolia is ranked 7,671^st in the world and 226^th in The North Pacific for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 119.02 on the Bus Surprisal Index.