The Stratocratic Republic of Erter is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by General Pterotheos with an iron fist, and renowned for its ban on automobiles, smutty television, and frequent executions. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 8.012 billion Erterians 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 enormous, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of 'Onitis. The average income tax rate is 91.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Erterian economy, worth a remarkable 1,122 trillion Phinikas 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 an enormous, deeply entrenched, quite specialized black market in Information Technology, Retail, Arms Manufacturing, and Uranium Mining. 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 140,050 Phinikas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation's spies are always on break time, military spending recently hit a new high, most Erterians would sell their own grandmother, and the navy is hoping to hear the enemy shout "you sank my battleship!". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Erter's national animal is the Golden Phoenix, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Secular.

Erter is ranked 266,373^rd in the world and 165^th in Byzantion for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 40.13 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.