The Republic of Tharlect is a huge, efficient nation, renowned for its smutty television, prohibition of alcohol, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, hard-working, devout population of 479 million Tharlectics have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Administration, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sapphire City. The average income tax rate is 53.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Tharlectic economy, worth 36.6 trillion Yarons a year, is fairly diversified and dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Furniture Restoration, and Information Technology. Average income is 76,374 Yarons, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

The government is attempting to revitalize a gutted private sector, community organizers have given up going door to door because nobody is home, military strategists are questioning the wisdom of subsidizing the economies of sworn enemies, and wealthy pranksters dump refuse on unsuspecting citizens from up high. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Tharlect's national animal is the Arctic Fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Tharlect is ranked 50,000^th in the world and 1,590^th in The North Pacific for Most Cultured, scoring 72 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.