The Join Lily of Switz 17 is a colossal, safe nation, renowned for its ban on automobiles and suspicion of poets. The devout population of 9.49 billion Join Lily 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 Public Transport, Law & Order, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 31.4%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Join Lily economy, worth 294 trillion Join Lilies a year, is quite specialized and led by the Trout Farming industry, with major contributions from Basket Weaving, Tourism, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 31,055 Join Lilies, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

The traditional Violetist dish of stuffed sheep's head is served with an intense look of shock upon its face, orthopaedics patients often have a bounce in their step, coffee-addicted citizens look forward to baristas getting their name wrong at local coffee shops, and Leader's new door-knocking campaign has the sweet taste of success. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Switz 17's national animal is the Join Lily, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Switz 17 is ranked 211,804^th in the world and 4^th in The Sites Of Grace for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 32.44 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.