The Federal Republic of Phthalo is a huge, safe nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, parental licensing program, and national health service. The hard-nosed, devout population of 590 million Phthalians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The medium-sized, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cotz. The average income tax rate is 49.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Phthalian economy, worth 50.0 trillion Leibsmarks a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 84,803 Leibsmarks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Mathematicians are gathering an infinite number of White-Shouldered Eagles and typewriters to see if they can recreate the works of Max Barry, graffiti artists spend lengthy periods of time in jail, diners regard burgers made from mechanically reclaimed cow protein as "proper meat", and the new 'Who Wants To Be A Politician' election debate auditions are more popular than the debates themselves. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Phthalo's national animal is the White-Shouldered Eagle, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities.

Phthalo is ranked 144,425^th in the world and 41^st in Der Leibwache for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,140.37 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.