The Republic of Mar-1 is a titanic, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its rum-swilling pirates, zero percent divorce rate, and ban on automobiles. The hard-nosed, hard-working, devout population of 18.942 billion Mar-1ians 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 47.7%.

The powerhouse Mar-1ian economy, worth a remarkable 1,673 trillion $$s a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Woodchip Exports. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 88,362 $$s, with the richest citizens earning 5.3 times as much as the poorest.

Medical experts advise that those claiming to be medical experts are probably fraudsters, the government mails weekly updates on the new anti-junk mail laws to every citizen, droves of former desperados are applying to join the border police, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been banned for advocating gluttony. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Mar-1's national animal is the Death's-head Hawkmoth, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Mar-1 is ranked 296,401^st in the world and 1^st in Marseille for Nicest Citizens, with 1.19 average smiles per day.