The Borderlands of Ethring is a titanic, genial nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape and compulsory military service. The democratic, devout population of 13.047 billion Ethringians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Welfare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 36.4%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Ethringian economy, worth 457 trillion Stuffs a year, is led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 35,029 Stuffs, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.4 times as much as the poorest.

A large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, schools have extensive counseling programs for troubled students, voting is voluntary, and Ethring's children are widely acknowledged as the most foul-mouthed in the region. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ethring's national animal is the shark, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to heavy metals seepage into national waterways.

Ethring is ranked 54,629^th in the world and 30^th in ainulindale for Largest Welfare Programs, scoring 2,011.38 on the Safety Net Mesh Density Rating.