The Euro Commonwealth of Langburn is a colossal, socially progressive nation, ruled by President Bear Logan with a fair hand, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, national health service, and keen interest in outer space. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 2.861 billion Langburnians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The medium-sized, corrupt, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Onita. The average income tax rate is 74.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Langburnian economy, worth 602 trillion crowns 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 an enormous, deeply entrenched, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Retail, Book Publishing, and Soda Sales. 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 an amazing 210,749 crowns, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

A well-funded social safety net protects the unfortunate, young people suspect their parents might be a little bit stupid, hardline members of the Red Bloc consider President Bear Logan a filthy revisionist traitor, and the government guarantees that tourists will have the ultimate trip on their trips. Crime, especially youth-related, is pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Langburn's national animal is the pelican, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Langburn is ranked 104,652^nd in the world and 756^th in Europeia for Nicest Citizens, with 13.62 average smiles per day.