The Republic of Empth is a massive, genial nation, ruled by Peter Milestone with an even hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate population of 1.219 billion Emptheres are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sjecherc. The average income tax rate is 82.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Empthere economy, worth 99.6 trillion ourangs a year, is quite specialized and led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 81,730 ourangs, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Businesses that prove successful are immediately broken up, racial and religious segregation has become rife as the various groups are loath to mingle, the "temporary replacement bus service" is now a permanent fixture, and the Treasury has been accused of flushing money down the toilet. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Empth's national animal is the snail kite, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Empth is ranked 7,213^th in the world and 1^st in Loclare for Most Compassionate Citizens, scoring 72.19 on the Kitten Softness Rating.