The Summer of 89 is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, notable for its public floggings, absence of drug laws, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 28.302 billion 89ians enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The minute, liberal, pro-business government, or what there is of one, is solely concerned with Industry. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient 89ian economy, worth a remarkable 4,530 trillion 89s a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Soda Sales, Retail, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is an impressive 160,068 89s, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 1,475,220 per year while the poor average 1,749, a ratio of 843 to 1.

Souvenir shops that sell alphorns are taking advantage of gullible tourists, fiscal policy hawks decry the sizable "panem et circenses" fund added to the public budget, animal liberationists receive government funding to break into animal research labs, and children gain their first sex education from reading the dictionary. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, probably because of the absence of a police force. 89's national animal is the 89, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

89 is ranked 1,497^th in the world and 27^th in The East Pacific for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 283.65 on the Bus Surprisal Index.