The Empire of Starhelm is a tiny, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 9 million Starhelmians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The tiny government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Defense. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 8.2%.

The strong Starhelmian economy, worth 516 billion UICS a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Retail, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 57,383 UICS, with the richest citizens earning 6.7 times as much as the poorest.

A large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, citizens are barcoded to keep track of their movements, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, and no one believes anything until it has been strenuously tested and peer-reviewed. Crime is moderate, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Starhelm's national animal is the Serpant, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Starhelm is ranked 251,375^th in the world and 13^th in First United Federation for Nicest Citizens, with 9.76 average smiles per day.