The Serene Dominion of Ancient Slobovia is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Empress Iris IV with a fair hand, and remarkable for its public floggings, hatred of cheese, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 35.552 billion Ancient Slobovians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Constantinople. The average income tax rate is 88.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Ancient Slobovian economy, worth a remarkable 2,310 trillion guilders a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector is solely comprised of the Book Publishing industry. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 64,998 guilders, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

All mothers are allowed six months fully-paid maternity leave, college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, the government is pursuing a new programme aimed at promoting cultural sophistication, and the first half of cabinet meetings include Empress Iris IV complaining about the reasonable nation theory (Ancient Slobovia has found 1 easter egg). Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ancient Slobovia's national animal is the silver bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ancient Slobovia is ranked 52,498^th in the world and 1,130^th in the South Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 141.78 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.