The Republic of Older Berlin is a massive, efficient nation, renowned for its national health service, ban on automobiles, and free-roaming dinosaurs. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 1.132 billion Older Berlinians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.9%.

The frighteningly efficient Older Berlinian economy, worth 109 trillion Ducats a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Furniture Restoration. Average income is 97,013 Ducats, with the richest citizens earning 6.1 times as much as the poorest.

The latest guided missile cruiser "Ship-1642" has received precisely zero column inches in the press, hundreds of subterranean tunnels are being built as part of "Project Morlock", renewable energy projects have ground to a halt, and politicians constantly ring their voters to remind them how good a job they're doing. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Older Berlin's national animal is the Bear, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Older Berlin is ranked 292,761^st in the world and 873^rd in Novaya Zemlya for Nicest Citizens, with 1.39 average smiles per day.