The People's Socialist Republic of The Achterhoek is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Chairman Daan with a fair hand, and remarkable for its free-roaming dinosaurs, rampant corporate plagiarism, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 10.383 billion Achterhoekers are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The large, corrupt, liberal, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Lochem. The average income tax rate is 90.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Achterhoekian economy, worth a remarkable 1,500 trillion Volksguldens a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 144,497 Volksguldens, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Arbitration is mightier than the sword, armed security details escort librarians to their homes, the Smalltopian embassy doubles as an electoral campaign headquarters, and primetime re-runs of The Black and White Minstrel Show are a critical hit. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Achterhoek's national animal is the Deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

The Achterhoek is ranked 38,010^th in the world and 332^nd in The Communist Bloc for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 5,764.43 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.