The Democratic States of Epidendrum is a tiny, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its smutty television and irreverence towards religion. The democratic population of 18 million Epidendrumians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 47.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The fair Epidendrumian economy, worth 563 billion Copper pieces a year, is led by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Uranium Mining, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 31,309 Copper pieces, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

A large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, tourists from around the world come to visit the country's famous rainforests, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, and surveillance cameras are banned. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Epidendrum's national animal is the Hyrax, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Epidendrum is ranked 108,558^th in the world and 18^th in 2026 AP CoGo for Most Compassionate Citizens, scoring 44.28 on the Kitten Softness Rating.