The Republic of Mercatoren is a huge, efficient nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, national health service, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 758 million Mercatorenians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 19.1%.

The thriving Mercatorenian economy, worth 55.0 trillion Koronas a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Automobile Manufacturing, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 72,616 Koronas, with the richest citizens earning 6.3 times as much as the poorest.

Minority children spend hours bussing to schools miles away from home, fur coats have become the latest fashion trend, Jennifer Government is banned, and political dissidents are cut off from essential services. Crime is almost non-existent. Mercatoren's national animal is the Bobcat, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Mercatoren is ranked 179,610^th in the world and 2,304^th in the Pacific for Most Patriotic, with 8.03 flags saluted per person per day.