The Empire of Laurendon is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Chancellor Philippa Lawson with a fair hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, sprawling nuclear power plants, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic, cheerful population of 5.744 billion Laurendonians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, corrupt, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Healthcare, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Carsen. The average income tax rate is 42.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Laurendonian economy, worth a remarkable 1,088 trillion Laurons a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Retail, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 189,439 Laurons, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Protestors are soaking piles of Laurons in blood to make a point about government incomes, third world countries are rich in "I Love Carsen" t-shirts, the nation was recently voted as the most stylish in The North Pacific, and passive-aggressive congratulations cards inform mums-to-be that their pregnancy is their greatest achievement in life. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Laurendon's national animal is the Lion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Christianity.

Laurendon is ranked 39,464^th in the world and 1,323^rd in The North Pacific for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 4,181.25 on the Gilded Widget Scale.