The Armed Republic of Astralis-Echelon is a large, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. The hard-nosed population of 56 million Astralis-Echelonians 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 medium-sized government prioritizes Defense, with Law & Order, Welfare, and Education also on the agenda, while Spirituality and International Aid aren't funded at all. The average income tax rate is 22.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Astralis-Echelonian economy, worth 2.61 trillion Echis a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Information Technology, and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 46,636 Echis, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

The annual Adult Film Awards have a category for most titillating aftershave advert, teachers are skilled at leaving no evidence of child cruelty, male med students learning female anatomy do so with their eyes tightly closed, and election ballot papers are so long that unused ones are recycled as toilet roll. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Astralis-Echelon's national animal is the Wolf, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Astralis-Echelon is ranked 229,374^th in the world and 4,906^th in The North Pacific for Most Cultured, scoring 64 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.