The United Socialist States of Askowa is a very large, cultured nation, notable for its museums and concert halls, compulsory military service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 354 million Askowalkans 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Avelier. The average income tax rate is 31.4%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Askowalkan economy, worth 29.1 trillion liers a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Retail, and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 82,267 liers, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Birth rates have hit an all-time low, scientists are researching the best way to kill off humanity to prevent catastrophic war, recent events have left citizens both shaken and stirred, and taxpayers cringe whenever someone brings up the Former Antagonist Reparations Treaty. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Askowa's national animal is the raven, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Askowa is ranked 64,687^th in the world and 1,143^rd in The North Pacific for Largest Information Technology Sector, scoring 8,325.06 on the Fann-Boi Productivity Index.