The Republic of Bankowiata is a colossal, socially progressive nation, ruled by Strong AI with a fair hand, and remarkable for its compulsory vegetarianism, irreverence towards religion, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 9.126 billion Bankowiatans 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 enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Bankowiata City. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Bankowiatan economy, worth a remarkable 3,210 trillion Virtual Coins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 351,797 Virtual Coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Old people living in plastic bubbles complain about a new type of social isolation, the nation's industries are scrambling to switch to biodegradable plastics, Bankowiatans caught jaywalking often have their houses seized by the police, and frat-house partying has become the national pastime. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bankowiata's national animal is the Hedgehog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Secularism.

Bankowiata is ranked 315,199^th in the world and 5,925^th in The North Pacific for Largest Furniture Restoration Industry, scoring -19.03 on the Spitz-Pollish Productivity Index.