The Highlands of Gafflebag is a massive, socially progressive nation, ruled by Jackson Stone with a fair hand, and notable for its compulsory military service, avant-garde cinema, and absence of drug laws. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 1.169 billion Gaffleans hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Balderby. The average income tax rate is 28.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Gafflean economy, worth 94.9 trillion Gafflean pounds a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Retail, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Gambling. Average income is 81,190 Gafflean pounds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

The nation's universities are often mistaken for foreign embassies, this year's televised Budget Forecast has been cancelled because there was already one last year, Jackson Stone has just been declared ruler of Gafflebag in an international press conference, and it's normal to start working life with crippling financial debt. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Gafflebag's national animal is the groundhog, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Gafflebag is ranked 215,364^th in the world and 8,835^th in The North Pacific for Most Conservative, scoring 14.69 on the Bush-Santorum Dawning Terror Index.