The Republic of Lyallpur is a huge, safe nation, renowned for its public floggings, keen interest in outer space, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic population of 383 million Lyallpurians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 70.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Lyallpurian economy, worth 29.5 trillion dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 77,104 dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Billions of dollars are being poured into a space program, Occam's razor has sliced to pieces any childhood belief in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, workers for the environmental protection agency are patted down for tartar sauce every morning, and the masses are surrendering their civil liberties without complaint for the sake of shopping convenience. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Lyallpur's national animal is the Dragon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Lyallpur is ranked 49,781^st in the world and 520^th in Europe for Highest Average Incomes, with 77,104.08 Standard Monetary Units.