The Democratic Republic of FireSnow is a huge, safe nation, renowned for its frequent executions. The hard-working population of 651 million FireSnowians 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 Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 26.6%.

The strong FireSnowian economy, worth 39.1 trillion Fiows a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 60,082 Fiows, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.5 times as much as the poorest.

Prison overcrowding is being addressed with a series of short sharp shocks, voting for pro-Bigtopian candidates is voluntary, the new Liquor Legitimacy Office is besieged with job applications from people who have experience in "statistical sampling methods", and money that should have gone to charities is instead spent on monitoring them. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. FireSnow's national animal is the Onça, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

FireSnow is ranked 63,744^th in the world and 2,365^th in The North Pacific for Smartest Citizens, with 38.3 quips per hour.