The Free Land of Asterlandia is a mid-sized, genial nation, renowned for its irreverence towards religion, absence of drug laws, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 56 million Asterlandians enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The large, liberal, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 67.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Asterlandian economy, worth 1.43 trillion shillings a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Cheese Exports, and Trout Farming. Average income is 25,534 shillings, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Old dogs don't have to learn new tricks but they have to prove they haven't forgotten old ones, anti-government web sites are springing up, entomologists flock to Asterlandia City for its remarkable gadfly population, and it is illegal to distribute Girl Guide Cookies without an advanced food hygiene diploma. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Asterlandia's national animal is the Tanuki, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Asterlandia is ranked 246,324^th in the world and 14,160^th in Osiris for Most Advanced Law Enforcement, scoring 940.07 on the Orwell Orderliness Index.