The Free Republic of Ballistikov is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by Amelinda Kunkel with an even hand, and notable for its teetotalling pirates, museums and concert halls, and avant-garde cinema. The hard-nosed, humorless, devout population of 17.447 billion Ballistikovians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The medium-sized, corrupt, socially-minded government is primarily concerned with Defense, with Law & Order, Education, and Industry also on the agenda, while International Aid isn't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Blitzkov. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Ballistikovian economy, worth an astonishing 10,945 trillion Marks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Uranium Mining, and Book Publishing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is a breathtaking 627,344 Marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The police have reaffirmed their tough stance on drugs, exorbitant spending on icebreakers breaks the ice at every budget meeting, power to the people comes from the barrel of a gun, and Amelinda Kunkel is called 'Patches' at international summits. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ballistikov's national animal is the Ballistikovian Eagle, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Christianity.

Ballistikov is ranked 50,522^nd in the world and 398^th in the Pacific for Largest Cheese Export Sector, scoring 4,603.27 on the Mozzarella Productivity Index.