The State of Franklin Explorer is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by the Governor with a fair hand, and renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, absence of drug laws, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 32.835 billion Franklin Explorerians live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The tiny, liberal, pro-business, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Westminster. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 7.8%.

The very strong Franklin Explorerian economy, worth a remarkable 1,265 trillion betales a year, is quite specialized and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Basket Weaving, Retail, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 38,540 betales, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 262,026 per year while the poor average 2,070, a ratio of 126 to 1.

Voting is voluntary, citizens are expected to be proficient in at least five languages, Franklin Explorer has designated Westminster as its capital city, and The Governor has just been declared ruler of Franklin Explorer in an international press conference. Crime is a serious problem, probably because of the absence of a police force. Franklin Explorer's national animal is the deer, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Franklin Explorer is ranked 78,487^th in the world and 1^st in the North for Most Efficient Economies, scoring 76.67 on the Krugman-Greenspan Business Outlook Index.