The United Kingdom of Ulm 48 is a massive, orderly nation, remarkable for its smutty television, prohibition of alcohol, and pith helmet sales. The cynical, humorless, devout population of 1.898 billion Ulm 48ians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Administration. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.3%.

The frighteningly efficient Ulm 48ian economy, worth 277 trillion francs 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, broadly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Cheese Exports. 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 impressive 145,965 francs, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 553,785 per year while the poor average 26,707, a ratio of 20.7 to 1.

Dog breeding has been banned in accordance with recent animal experimentation laws, the family summer vacation has become a thing of the past following the introduction of the year-round school year, anyone who sneezes at border crossings is turned away, and fans doing the wave routinely disrupt the finals of Go tournaments. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ulm 48's national animal is the falcon, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Ulm 48 is ranked 222,830^th in the world and 216^th in Swabian autonomous region for Safest, scoring 48.48 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.