The Federal Republic of Zitru is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, notable for its museums and concert halls, frequent executions, and hatred of cheese. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 33.88 billion Zitrans 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Raedburg. The average income tax rate is 89.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Zitran economy, worth a remarkable 2,790 trillion Zitran kroner a year, is extremely specialized and mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 82,350 Zitran kroner, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Gigantic marble churches take up almost half the land area of small villages, park rangers perform full-body searches on suspected fungus smugglers, Occam's razor has sliced to pieces any childhood belief in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, and in life full of care there is no time to stop and stare. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zitru's national animal is the Zitran dragon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Roman Catholicism.

Zitru is ranked 20,732^nd in the world and 1,011^th in Balder for Smartest Citizens, with 67.17 quips per hour.