The Most Serene Republic of Saeternum is a huge, cultured nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, irreverence towards religion, and absence of drug laws. The compassionate, democratic population of 588 million Saeternumians 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, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Saeternum Villa. The average income tax rate is 62.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Saeternumian economy, worth 49.9 trillion marks a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 84,779 marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Contestants on Saeternum's Got Talent are screened by the government to make sure that they actually have talent, X-Files ratings have hit an all-time low, a proud mining community is considering a rebellion after the Capital officially renamed them 'District XII', and people can't decide between preserving forests and buying print copies of 'Dogman Versus The Giggler'. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Saeternum's national animal is the hummingbird, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Saeternum is ranked 10,090^th in the world and 21^st in Carcassonne for Safest, scoring 120.89 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.