The Empire of House Tarkin is a huge, cultured nation, renowned for its rum-swilling pirates, museums and concert halls, and frequent executions. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 746 million House Tarkinians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 56.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The House Tarkinian economy, worth 41.6 trillion Credits a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 55,814 Credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

International trade can be a pain to deal with, private pharmacies close down as medicinal drugs are given away freely by the government, builders across House Tarkin are blocked up with orders for new public loos, and breast milk lattes are the newest fad among hip urbanites. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. House Tarkin's national animal is the Falcon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

House Tarkin is ranked 79,534^th in the world and 79^th in Fifth Empire for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 2,912.69 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.