The People's Republic of Laufan is a very large, orderly nation, renowned for its compulsory military service, ban on automobiles, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 434 million Laufanians 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 enormous, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Law & Order, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 70.3%.

The sizeable but underdeveloped Laufanian economy, worth 17.7 trillion Xians 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 slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Trout Farming, Beef-Based Agriculture, Pizza Delivery, and Tourism. 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 40,706 Xians, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.4 times as much as the poorest.

International tensions are high as Laufan threatens any government with the audacity to arrest its citizens, warning signs caution Laufanians where they may fall off 'the edge of the world', genetic research is temporarily tied up in government red tape, and whales in captivity live in little more than glorified goldfish bowls. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Laufan's national animal is the Fox.

Laufan is ranked 248,904^th in the world and 3^rd in Vaeura for Highest Average Incomes, with 40,706.83 Standard Monetary Units.