The Republic of Hekmungus is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its otherworldly petting zoo, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 278 million Hekmungusians 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 enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 71.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Hekmungusian economy, worth 13.1 trillion Chefmunglers a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is mostly made up of the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology. Average income is 47,232 Chefmunglers, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation has nearly as many history museums as Hekmungusians, all mothers are allowed six months fully-paid maternity leave, the nation's democracy attracts huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and park rangers perform full-body searches on suspected fungus smugglers. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hekmungus's national animal is the Hekmungler, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Hekmungus is ranked 81,965^th in the world and 41^st in Atlanticana for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 2,116.58 on the Gilded Widget Scale.