The Empire of Edelsteinen is a huge, efficient nation, renowned for its unlimited-speed roads, compulsory military service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-working, democratic population of 565 million Edelsteinenians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, outspoken government is primarily concerned with Defense, although Law & Order, Education, and Healthcare are also considered important, while Spirituality and International Aid receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Hochburg. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 24.2%.

The thriving Edelsteinenian economy, worth 30.6 trillion Hybridkredits a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 54,184 Hybridkredits, with the richest citizens earning 8.7 times as much as the poorest.

Many friends and relatives of Leader have been given ambassador jobs in tropical island nations, drug distribution is tightly controlled by the government, monocled merchants with funny accents are applying for Edelsteinenian citizenship in droves, and truncheon-mounted cameras record the beating of criminals in dynamic HD detail. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Edelsteinen's national animal is the Phönix, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Edelsteinen is ranked 35,927^th in the world and 624^th in Europe for Most Beautiful Environments, with 800.79 pounds of wildlife per square mile.