The State of Pemento is a colossal, safe nation, renowned for its irreverence towards religion. The democratic population of 9.393 billion Pementoans have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 26.1%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Pementoan economy, worth 394 trillion betales a year, is led by the Pizza Delivery industry, with major contributions from Retail, Automobile Manufacturing, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 42,006 betales, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.4 times as much as the poorest.

Political hopefuls must announce their intentions decades in advance to accommodate extensive background checks, soldiers' positions are given away by the glint of their bayonets, songs in 4/4 time are simply too common for the musical cognoscenti, and anti-government web sites are springing up. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pemento's national animal is the deer.

Pemento is ranked 206,601^st in the world and 366^th in Ancient Lands for Most Corrupt Governments, with 1.14 kickbacks per hour.