The Republic of Courelli is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Governor Paolo Argentieri with a fair hand, and notable for its sprawling nuclear power plants, daily referendums, and hatred of cheese. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 12.582 billion Courellians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Leoncavallo. The average income tax rate is 98.6%.

The frighteningly efficient Courellian economy, worth a remarkable 2,468 trillion Callas a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Retail. Average income is an impressive 196,206 Callas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Excited shovel-bearing geeks wander the countryside, passengers often cause a stink on public transport, government expenses are beyond compare, and many friends and relatives of Governor Paolo Argentieri have been given ambassador jobs in tropical island nations. Crime is totally unknown. Courelli's national animal is the Eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Dalinism.

Courelli is ranked 300,861^st in the world and 212^th in The Social Liberal Union for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 18.07 on the Bus Surprisal Index.