The Federal Republic of Ripsylvania is a massive, efficient nation, ruled by Prime Minister Gustavus with a fair hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, digital currency, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic population of 2.103 billion Ripsylvanians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, liberal government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Breitenfeld. The average income tax rate is 85.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Ripsylvanian economy, worth 228 trillion scritches a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Trout Farming, Tourism, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is an impressive 108,601 scritches, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The government has begun selling heroin and ecstasy to help fund its projects, it is not politically correct to suspect that a serially convicted burglar might steal again, pre-takeoff checks last longer than the flights themselves, and five-year-olds who refuse to line up on command get gold stars. Crime is totally unknown. Ripsylvania's national animal is the Wooly Scragglemuffin, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ripsylvania is ranked 8,145^th in the world and 247^th in The East Pacific for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 11,907.16 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.