The Colony of International Buffer Zone is a small, cultured nation, notable for its compulsory military service, keen interest in outer space, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic population of 32 million International Buffer Zoneans 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 Welfare, Healthcare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 56.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but underdeveloped International Buffer Zonean economy, worth 1.25 trillion yuan a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Book Publishing, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 38,938 yuan, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Any secret that gets off someone's chest is promptly replaced, employers are keenest on employees who lack family values, there are six more weeks of winter if a northerner sees her shadow, and elite teams of assassins have been sent into Brasilistan. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. International Buffer Zone's national animal is the orphan, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

International Buffer Zone is ranked 26,517^th in the world and 18^th in Africa for Most Compassionate Citizens, scoring 52.5 on the Kitten Softness Rating.