The Confederation of Karpler is a mammoth, cultured nation, ruled by Albert Miller with a fair hand, and remarkable for its parental licensing program, daily referendums, and pith helmet sales. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 8.236 billion Karplerians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sarinburg. The average income tax rate is 90.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Karplerian economy, worth a remarkable 1,441 trillion Luras a year, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Retail. Average income is an impressive 175,057 Luras, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Court verdicts are predictable to within a hundredth of a percentage point, nothing is as sacred as fermented soybean paste, foreigners "adopt" rotund Mammoths to line the pockets of wildlife sanctuaries, and public transit is widely considered to be perpetrating the patriarchy. Crime is totally unknown. Karpler's national animal is the Mammoth, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Karpler is ranked 6,691^st in the world and 304^th in The North Pacific for Nicest Citizens, with 39.7 average smiles per day.