The Grant of Cortel is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Thorsten Baadsgaard with an even hand, and notable for its compulsory military service, complete lack of public education, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 27.78 billion Cortellese are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The minute, pro-business government, or what there is of one, prioritizes Industry, with Law & Order and Defense also on the agenda, while Welfare and Education receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cortel. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 6.0%.

The powerhouse Cortellian economy, worth a remarkable 1,177 trillion livroes a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is quite specialized and led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Furniture Restoration, and Book Publishing. Average income is 42,374 livroes, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 149,992 per year while the poor average 8,643, a ratio of 17.4 to 1.

Voting is voluntary, Cortel has designated Cortel as its capital city, Thorsten Baadsgaard has just been declared ruler of Cortel in an international press conference, and Roman Catholicism has been named as Cortel's national religion. Crime is a serious problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Cortel's national animal is the eagle, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities, and its national religion is Roman Catholicism.

Cortel is ranked 55,884^th in the world and 1^st in Grant for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 80.25 on the Bus Surprisal Index.