The Island Republic of Mark is a gargantuan, cultured nation, remarkable for its punitive income tax rates, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 32.011 billion Markians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Environment, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Mark City. The average income tax rate is 69.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Markian economy, worth a remarkable 1,850 trillion Markan Credits a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector is mostly comprised of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 57,810 Markan Credits, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Mark successfully hosted the Balder Olympics, the government seizes all major gold finds, hundreds of thousands of convicts work as slaves in Mark's many privately-owned prisons, and employers may fire workers without giving any reason. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Mark's national animal is the Mighty Dog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Mark is ranked 112,730^th in the world and 4,992^nd in Balder for Nicest Citizens, with 13 average smiles per day.