The Holy Empire of Gradis Merricus is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, unlimited-speed roads, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 360 million Gradis Merricusians enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The relatively small, pro-business government prioritizes Defense, although Industry, Education, and Welfare are also considered important, while Spirituality and Environment receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Augustinopolis. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 18.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Gradis Merricusian economy, worth 37.7 trillion Quans a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Soda Sales. Black market activity is notable. Average income is an impressive 104,832 Quans, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 502,144 per year while the poor average 12,807, a ratio of 39.2 to 1.

Children's TV shows are having a gay old time, a girl's success in life is often linked to her performance in beauty pageants, the government is well known for declaring war on other countries for suspected slights, and religious turf wars have caused frustrated police to pray for divine intervention. Crime, especially youth-related, is pervasive, probably because of the absence of a police force. Gradis Merricus's national animal is the Water Buffalo, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Gradis Merricus is ranked 73,304^th in the world and 1,275^th in The North Pacific for Most Patriotic, with 22.69 flags saluted per person per day.