The Principality of Salemland is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Prince Joshua with a fair hand, and remarkable for its complete lack of prisons, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 9.627 billion Salemlandians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Healthcare, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Jerusalem. The average income tax rate is 85.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Salemlandian economy, worth 583 trillion Breads 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 dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Woodchip Exports, and Book Publishing. Average income is 60,615 Breads, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

All new "spies" are fifteen-year-old acne-ridden kids on computers, the military's primary weapons are fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and a fanatical devotion to Christianity, most of the nation's wealthy aristocrats are dentists, and astronomers are flocking to Salemland to take advantage of its clear night skies. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Salemland's national animal is the Eagle, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Christianity.

Salemland is ranked 51,789^th in the world and 3,229^th in Lazarus for Lowest Crime Rates, with 73.67 law-abiding acts per hour.