The Empire of Bethea is a tiny, safe nation, renowned for its compulsory military service and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 12 million Betheans enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Administration, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 41.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The weak Bethean economy, worth 405 billion trinkets a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Trout Farming industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Cheese Exports, and Uranium Mining. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 33,751 trinkets, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Hot dogs have been renamed lukewarm pigs, court cases mostly involve lawyers shouting questions at witnesses giving silent shrugs, the installation of street lights across remote goat tracks has left citizens bemused, and relations with Dàguó have warmed from frosty to chilly. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bethea's national animal is the seahorse, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Bethea is ranked 231,354^th in the world and 2,868^th in The East Pacific for Rudest Citizens, with 32.14 insults per minute.