The Kingdom of Mistan is a colossal, orderly nation, ruled by Great Leader with an iron fist, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, infamous sell-swords, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 3.067 billion Mistanis are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Mistani Central. The average income tax rate is 58.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Mistanian economy, worth 282 trillion Rucks a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Book Publishing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 92,108 Rucks, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

The government is said to have a martyrdom complex, there's a hole in the heart of every Mistanian city, the cloud has been dealt a fouled hand, and women who walk into the ladies' changing room are accused of being Peeping Toms. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Mistan's national animal is the Falcon, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Christianity.

Mistan is ranked 219,476^th in the world and 20^th in Asian Cooperation Pact for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -3.61 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.