The United Socialist States of North Saldezia is a very large, genial nation, remarkable for its soft-spoken computers, ubiquitous missile silos, and restrictive gun laws. The compassionate, devout population of 202 million North Saldezians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Spirituality, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 54.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The North Saldezian economy, worth 12.9 trillion Aripmels a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 63,983 Aripmels, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Knitters are arrested for carrying needles in their bags, the only way for immigrants to get into office is as a janitor, bus ads propagandize causes ranging from sexual revolution to religious pogroms, and divorcees attending custody disputes tend to wear black-and-white zigzag patterns. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. North Saldezia's national animal is the Harbor Seal, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

North Saldezia is ranked 50,551^st in the world and 27^th in Ridgefield for Most Cultured, scoring 72 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.