The Emirate of Novarsk is a tiny, genial nation, notable for its state-planned economy, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 8 million Novarskians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Spirituality, and Education. The average income tax rate is 65.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The fragile Novarskian economy, worth 220 billion lire a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Arms Manufacturing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 27,584 lire, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Twins move across the country to avoid being accused of the other's crimes, same-sex marriages are increasingly common, the mining industry is making inroads into environmentally sensitive areas, and untold millions of lire are going into a new government-funded maternity leave scheme. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Novarsk's national animal is the cobra.

Novarsk is ranked 190,796^th in the world and 566^th in Talonia for Largest Arms Manufacturing Sector, scoring 1,820.5 on the Charon Conveyancy Index.