The Grand Duchy of Greater Albany is a massive, genial nation, ruled by King Alfred II with an even hand, and renowned for its pith helmet sales, compulsory military service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, devout population of 2.154 billion Greater Albanyians 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 large government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 72.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Greater Albanyian economy, worth 205 trillion Albanic Pounds a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 95,248 Albanic Pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Dangerous criminals are often 'accidentally' sent on one-way trips to Maxtopia, foreign students are expected to have a Kegmeister Grade Average of 36-24-36 to qualify for university, pre-takeoff checks last longer than the flights themselves, and heroes long thought dead are promptly killed upon their return. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Greater Albany's national animal is the Forest Lion of Sa Talaia, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Church of Albany.

Greater Albany is ranked 16,750^th in the world and 431^st in The East Pacific for Most Beautiful Environments, with 1,151.57 pounds of wildlife per square mile.