The Democratic Republic of Fartola is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its daily referendums, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 341 million Fartolans 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 enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government prioritizes Education, although Administration, Healthcare, and Law & Order are also considered important, while Spirituality receives no funds. The average income tax rate is 69.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Fartolan economy, worth 22.0 trillion toots a year, is quite specialized and dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 64,571 toots, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The best way to be heard in politics is to speak softly and carry a big comedy prop, Fartola's free colleges struggle to maintain standards in the face of overwhelming demand, signs at the border tell international drivers where they can put their cars, and droves of former desperados are applying to join the border police. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Fartola's national animal is the Rattlesnake, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Fartola is ranked 8,485^th in the world and 238^th in The East Pacific for Safest, scoring 123.49 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.