The Republic of Nousa is a huge, safe nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, frequent executions, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working, devout population of 794 million Nousans have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Spirituality, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 31.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Nousan economy, worth 36.2 trillion Animals a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Automobile Manufacturing, and Pizza Delivery. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 45,633 Animals, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.0 times as much as the poorest.

The Nousa Automotive Racing Series draws millions of spectators annually while those near the tracks complain about the noise, the travel industry is booming as pregnant women book tickets for "weekend trips" overseas, truncheon-mounted cameras record the beating of criminals in dynamic HD detail, and bicyclists are banned from major roads. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Nousa's national animal is the Berries, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Nousa is ranked 129,581^st in the world and 5,012^th in The North Pacific for Most Advanced Public Transport, scoring 729.35 on the Societal Mobility Rating.