The Most Hogly Estate of Palractus is a titanic, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by the people with an even hand, and notable for its closed borders, national health service, and triple-decker prams. The hard-nosed, democratic, humorless, devout population of 19.294 billion Palractusii are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, corrupt, moralistic morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Spirituality. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Hildebrandt. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Palractusii economy, worth a remarkable 5,010 trillion words of affirmation a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, extremely specialized black market in Furniture Restoration and Basket Weaving. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. State-owned companies are the norm. Average income is an amazing 259,667 words of affirmation, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 759,697 per year while the poor average 70,048, a ratio of 10.8 to 1.

Children in school playgrounds can be heard chanting the hymns of the Order of Violet, the nation has cemented its own architectural style, 'Hedgehognado 6: You Gotta Be Kidding Me' is this summer's top-grossing movie, and elections are won by the candidate who makes the best 'yo mama' jokes. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Palractus's national animal is the hedgehog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is democracy.

Palractus is ranked 71,980^th in the world and 5^th in Montealba for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 42.17 on the Bus Surprisal Index.