The Armed Republic of Michael Sweet is a massive, efficient nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, complete absence of social welfare, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 1.443 billion Michael Sweetians are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The tiny, pro-business government prioritizes Defense, with Law & Order, Education, and Industry also on the agenda, while International Aid and Welfare are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Orange County. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 6.5%.

The very strong Michael Sweetian economy, worth 92.2 trillion USDS a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Average income is 63,861 USDS, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 279,235 per year while the poor average 9,213, a ratio of 30.3 to 1.

Leader has just been declared ruler of Michael Sweet in an international press conference, organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region, scientists earn more grant money for reproducing old experiments than trying anything new, and Christianity has been named as Michael Sweet's national religion. Crime is a problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Michael Sweet's national animal is the Fox, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Christianity.

Michael Sweet is ranked 242,300^th in the world and 1^st in Stryper for Safest, scoring 35.07 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.