The Republic of Swimmingly is a colossal, orderly nation, remarkable for its national health service, state-planned economy, and ubiquitous missile silos. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 2.546 billion Swimminglyians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 48.8%.

The frighteningly efficient Swimminglyian economy, worth 243 trillion francs a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 95,646 francs, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.4 times as much as the poorest.

Requests for government aid can be forwarded to the beach, weather forecasts are accurate but nobody has the bandwidth to view them, soldiers with colourful mohawks make themselves perfect targets for snipers, and citizens are encouraged to report friends, family members or co-workers who seem depressed to the government for "counselling". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Swimmingly's national animal is the wolf, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Swimmingly is ranked 285,707^th in the world and 100^th in One in a Million for Nicest Citizens, with 2.76 average smiles per day.