The Big Parm Soap States of Poboland is a titanic, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by POBOTRON 5000 with an iron fist, and renowned for its ritual sacrifices, keen interest in outer space, and soft-spoken computers. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful population of 14.741 billion Pobolandians 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 medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Poboland city. The average income tax rate is 85.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Pobolandian economy, worth a remarkable 3,853 trillion Soups a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Tourism, Book Publishing, and Arms Manufacturing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an amazing 261,425 Soups, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Scientific ethics are on the chopping block, even the nation's brussel sprouts are delicious and nutritious, Animal Liberationists are regularly arrested, and black gold is looking more brown these days. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Poboland's national animal is the Long-Shafted Turkey-Weasel, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Poboism.

Poboland is ranked 717^th in the world and 8^th in Europeia for Nicest Citizens, with 101.17 average smiles per day.