The State of Brantley is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, renowned for its complete lack of public education and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 29.446 billion Brantleyians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The tiny, liberal, outspoken government is solely concerned with Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 8.2%.

The very strong Brantleyian economy, worth 589 trillion betales a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is highly specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Retail, and Book Publishing. Average income is 19,990 betales, with the richest citizens earning 6.5 times as much as the poorest.

Voting is voluntary. Crime is a serious problem, probably because of the absence of a police force. Brantley's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Brantley is ranked 29,484^th in the world and 1^st in Brantley for Most Rebellious Youth, scoring zero on the Stark-Dean Displacement Index.