The Holy Empire of Meridad is a huge, safe nation, notable for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 277 million Meridadians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The enormous, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Law & Order, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 71.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Meridadian economy, worth 5.95 trillion AAAAAS a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is dominated by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Arms Manufacturing, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Average income is 21,481 AAAAAS, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The education system has gotten a recent boost in spending, divorce is illegal, tourists from around the world come to visit the country's famous rainforests, and police officers often conceal their identities to safeguard against public complaints. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Meridad's national animal is the animal, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Meridad is ranked 102,917^th in the world and 4^th in Slavania for Most Patriotic, with 14.8 flags saluted per person per day.