The JRPG of Final Fantasy 8 is a mammoth, efficient nation, ruled by Chocobo with an even hand, and notable for its rum-swilling pirates, infamous sell-swords, and free-roaming dinosaurs. The hard-nosed, devout population of 8.867 billion Final Fantasy 8ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Square. The average income tax rate is 69.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Final Fantasy 8ian economy, worth 816 trillion baht a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, quite specialized black market in Uranium Mining, Beef-Based Agriculture, Pizza Delivery, and Arms Manufacturing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 92,086 baht, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Brains have been removed from lists of best brain foods, buses are widely regarded as the safest way to travel, oil rigs in winter are heated by contained oil slick fires, and commuters travel in zigzags to avoid stalking accusations. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Final Fantasy 8's national animal is the lion, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Crystals.

Final Fantasy 8 is ranked 37,418^th in the world and 6^th in Square Enix for Most Developed, scoring 80.37 on the Human Development Index.