The Most Serene Republic of Pontavera is a huge, efficient nation, renowned for its compulsory military service, zero percent divorce rate, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 864 million Pontaverans are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 63.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Pontaveran economy, worth 89.0 trillion Veras a year, is fairly diversified and dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Arms Manufacturing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 103,011 Veras, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

People who do not complete their community service are sentenced to more community service, politicians accost strangers in the street to ask their problems, asking 'does my bum look big in this?' leads to 30 hours of self-esteem classes, and nobody knows why the caged White Lion sings. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pontavera's national animal is the White Lion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Pontavera is ranked 47,651^st in the world and 12^th in The Sacred Elite for Smartest Citizens, with 44.93 quips per hour.