The Republic of Calderan is a massive, orderly nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, vat-grown people, and compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 1.295 billion Calderanians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Spirituality, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Old Calderan. The average income tax rate is 33.5%.

The very strong Calderanian economy, worth 92.1 trillion marks a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Woodchip Exports. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 71,097 marks, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.6 times as much as the poorest.

Calderan has designated Old Calderan as its capital city, schoolboys who turn to watch pretty girls go by are given detention, the regional delicacy of chocolate bombes is deadlier than an unexploded bomb, and disadvantaged neighbourhoods have become no-go areas after sundown. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Calderan's national animal is the eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Calderan is ranked 132,756^th in the world and 58^th in Anteria for Smartest Citizens, with 32.07 quips per hour.