The Holy Empire of Pickues is a tiny, socially progressive nation, renowned for its public floggings and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 12 million Pickuesians are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The minute, pro-business government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 4.8%.

The thriving Pickuesian economy, worth 896 billion yeps a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Automobile Manufacturing, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 74,675 yeps, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 254,240 per year while the poor average 16,161, a ratio of 15.7 to 1.

Surprising numbers of poor people are protesting against taxing the rich, punitive tariffs protect local industry, the government awards prizes to television shows featuring stereotype-breaking minority roles, and scientists earn more grant money for reproducing old experiments than trying anything new. Crime is a serious problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Pickues's national animal is the racoon, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Pickues is ranked 282,140^th in the world and 69^th in Sparkalia for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring -3.16 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.