The Republic of Upper Lapopol is a tiny, safe nation, notable for its irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, hard-working population of 12 million Upper Lapopolians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and look forward to their next free and open election, to be held on an as-yet unannounced date.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 23.6%.

The strong Upper Lapopolian economy, worth 718 billion Euros a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Door-to-door Insurance Sales industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Basket Weaving, and Book Publishing. Average income is 59,855 Euros, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.6 times as much as the poorest.

Prankster scientists legally change their names to silly pseudonyms before major discoveries, mystics are claiming that a simultaneous rise in scepticism and education budgets is correlation rather than causation, asking a friend if they like watermelons is a potentially criminal act, and a niche industry catering to S&M enthusiasts has sprung up. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Upper Lapopol's national animal is the falcon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Upper Lapopol is ranked 145,190^th in the world and 94^th in The Wellspring for Largest Pizza Delivery Sector, scoring 678.31 on the Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index.