The Confederacy of Old World Blood is a very large, cultured nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy, enslaved workforce, and keen interest in outer space. The cynical, devout population of 331 million Old World Bloodians 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 medium-sized, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 33.2%.

The strong Old World Bloodian economy, worth 23.5 trillion Litres a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Furniture Restoration, Information Technology, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 70,930 Litres, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 241,487 per year while the poor average 15,350, a ratio of 15.7 to 1.

Candidates for public office painstakingly research their family trees to ensure their eligibility, OWB-SPAN viewership drops as MPs act their age, fans doing the wave routinely disrupt the finals of Go tournaments, and blind students are at a disadvantage now that test papers printed in braille have been discontinued. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Old World Blood's national animal is the Raven, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Old World Blood is ranked 91,946^th in the world and 3^rd in The West Atlantic for Nicest Citizens, with 15.09 average smiles per day.