The Federal Republic of Archus is a small, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its avant-garde cinema, daily referendums, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-working, democratic population of 40 million Arches 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 Education, Defense, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 22.7%.

The strong Archusian economy, worth 2.42 trillion Arch Units a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 60,521 Arch Units, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.8 times as much as the poorest.

Ghost regiments exist only on paper, dreams of entering the Super League have been relegated to the history books, officials pull all-nighters to check immigrants for potential links to terrorists, and referenda can be called for any law at the request of at least one third of the voting population. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Archus's national animal is the Luca cell, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Archus is ranked 78,898^th in the world and 83^rd in Karma for Highest Disposable Incomes, with 46,783.31 Standard Monetary Units.