The Shadow Unity of Phantomism is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Sultan Rahman with an even hand, and renowned for its teetotalling pirates, ban on automobiles, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, cynical population of 864 million Phantoms 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, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Shadow Metropolis. The average income tax rate is 45.0%.

The all-consuming Phantomis economy, worth 85.4 trillion Phantomismals a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Woodchip Exports, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 98,793 Phantomismals, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.4 times as much as the poorest.

Hackers post hourly updates on international summits, the average video game can be completed over lunch break, parents must choose their children's names from a government-mandated master list, and Sultan Rahman has just been declared ruler of Phantomism in an international press conference. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Phantomism's national animal is the Endangered Tiger, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Phantomism is ranked 248,533^rd in the world and 82^nd in Wintercrest for Most Primitive, scoring -112.2 on the Scary Big Number Scale.