The Principality of Lyricana is a huge, efficient nation, renowned for its keen interest in outer space, compulsory military service, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 482 million Lyricanans are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of City of Wenor. The average income tax rate is 14.3%.

The thriving Lyricanan economy, worth 34.8 trillion Astrumis a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Furniture Restoration, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 72,245 Astrumis, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.1 times as much as the poorest.

The nation's first space rocket -- sponsored by Eckie-Ecola and shaped like an enormous soda bottle -- is being developed, guide dogs for the blind have been seen using government websites, crocodile roadkill is smeared across the asphalt of the new Formula One track, and a nation-wide cull of Pegasuses is in effect. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Lyricana's national animal is the Pegasus.

Lyricana is ranked 265,486^th in the world and 393^rd in The League for Highest Foreign Aid Spending, scoring -8.37 on the Clooney Contribution Index.