The Federal Republic of Sternow is a tiny, socially progressive nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, irreverence towards religion, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 8 million Sternowitzes are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The tiny, pro-business, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Defense. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 6.8%.

The thriving Sternowian economy, worth 566 billion Sternowitze Marks a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Automobile Manufacturing. Average income is 70,761 Sternowitze Marks, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 212,830 per year while the poor average 18,356, a ratio of 11.6 to 1.

The nation's once beautiful countryside has turned brown as farmers spray potent pesticides, surgeons walk out of theatres more often than prima donna actors, police officers find government bureaucracy more terrifying than most serial killers, and frequent broken zippers have resulted in safety pins making a fashion comeback. Crime is moderate. Sternow's national animal is the Great Egret, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Sternow is ranked 301,281^st in the world and 3,881^st in The East Pacific for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring -4.47 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.