The Republic of Bat-1 is a titanic, efficient nation, notable for its strictly enforced bedtime, frequent executions, and triple-decker prams. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 22.68 billion Bat-1ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 65.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Bat-1ian economy, worth a remarkable 2,055 trillion $$s a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Woodchip Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 90,643 $$s, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.6 times as much as the poorest.

The Treasury has been accused of flushing money down the toilet, the National Art Gallery's newest exhibit is the 500-year-old Luna Lisa, in distant lands the nation is known as a lovely place that was even better in the good old days, and citizens are forced to donate blood once every three months. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bat-1's national animal is the laughing swordfish, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Bat-1 is ranked 43,894^th in the world and 1^st in Batavia for Most Advanced Defense Forces, scoring 6,156.12 on the Total War Preparedness Rating.