The Republic of Markla is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Alexis Lindholm with an even hand, and renowned for its otherworldly petting zoo, sprawling nuclear power plants, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 4.451 billion Marklans enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Markla City. The average income tax rate is 42.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Marklan economy, worth 517 trillion marks a year, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Cheese Exports. Average income is an impressive 116,294 marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The government only announces the deaths of its members when it's convenient, asking 'does my bum look big in this?' leads to 30 hours of self-esteem classes, sleep-deprived officials are known to collapse after late night revision for their examinations, and a typical fast food menu item could serve a small army. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Markla's national animal is the orca, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Markla is ranked 237,051^st in the world and 11,656^th in the South Pacific for Highest Crime Rates, with 2.11 crimes per hour.