The Republic of Basalt is a colossal, pleasant nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape. The hard-working population of 3.734 billion Basaltians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 17.4%.

The strong Basaltian economy, worth 189 trillion vesicular basalts a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Woodchip Exports industry, with major contributions from Door-to-door Insurance Sales, Uranium Mining, and Retail. Average income is 50,706 vesicular basalts, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.7 times as much as the poorest.

Harry Potter books are banned, a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, the country's famous rainforests are being bulldozed by the mining industry, and military pilots spend more time scraping feathers off their engines than flying their aircraft. Crime is relatively low, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Basalt's national animal is the basaltic glass, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Basalt is ranked 303,860^th in the world and 19^th in Hornblende for Largest Trout Fishing Sector, scoring -8 on the Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index.