The Borderlands of Norrhem is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Jan-Erik Lidenmark with an iron fist, and notable for its museums and concert halls, compulsory military service, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, cynical population of 12.235 billion Norrishes are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The enormous, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Skarrsholm. The average income tax rate is 67.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Norrhemian economy, worth 681 trillion kronors a year, is led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Furniture Restoration, Trout Farming, and Book Publishing. Average income is 55,679 kronors, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Conspiracy theorists allege Skarrsholm's new subway map resembles Satanic symbols, workers have their fruitcake and eat it too, pandemics are over and done with by the time it takes to pass the nation's stringent border security, and nobody is allowed to mention what religion terrorists follow. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Norrhem's national animal is the arctic fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Old Norse.

Norrhem is ranked 37,863^rd in the world and 19^th in Rushmore for Highest Food Quality, scoring 58.1 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.