The Republic of January 3rd is a very large, cultured nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, state-planned economy, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 216 million January 3rdians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Defense, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 45.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient January 3rdian economy, worth 10.2 trillion Cards a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with significant contributions from Woodchip Exports, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 47,037 Cards, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The government is paving paradises to put up parking lots, the "Underwear of Women in Power" issue of The January 3rd City Times is sold out, the election for Leader's office's janitor is heating up, and search-and-rescue organisations are the biggest employer in the country. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. January 3rd's national animal is the Card, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

January 3rd is ranked 84,325^th in the world and 6^th in Calendar for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 2,766.61 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.