The United Republics of Varelya is a colossal, socially progressive nation, ruled by President Miki Takeuchi with a fair hand, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, compulsory military service, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 4.162 billion Varelyans enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Novosirisk. The average income tax rate is 46.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Varelyan economy, worth 662 trillion Zolts a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, and Retail. Black market activity is extensive. Average income is an impressive 159,033 Zolts, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

Producers insist that movie stars wear crash helmets in every scene, the nation's new Mylab space station is notorious for being the loneliest place above the planet, more than one company makes the board game Monopoly, and consumption of cat memes has skyrocketed. Crime is totally unknown. Varelya's national animal is the Dove, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Varelya is ranked 20,588^th in the world and 4^th in Panam for Most Developed, scoring 86.94 on the Human Development Index.