The Democratic Republic of Zalestria is a very large, safe nation, remarkable for its frequent executions, irreverence towards religion, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 115 million Zalestrians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The enormous, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 71.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Zalestrian economy, worth 3.38 trillion Bucks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is dominated by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 29,374 Bucks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Billions are being spent on a new island airport, Leader has no checks and balances after the upper house was abolished, people often get liposuction to reduce their air fares, and no one gossips with Leader during diplomatic summits. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zalestria's national animal is the Hawk, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Zalestria is ranked 223,774^th in the world and 4,283^rd in the South Pacific for Nicest Citizens, with 6.84 average smiles per day.