The Empire of Verconia is a colossal, orderly nation, ruled by Emperor Vercon with an iron fist, and remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, ubiquitous missile silos, and vat-grown people. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 5.465 billion Verconians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Veltcona. The average income tax rate is 93.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Verconian economy, worth a remarkable 1,558 trillion vercoins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 285,102 vercoins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

People say chess victor Emperor Vercon can kill you with mind-bullets, fake designer clothes are shredded and burnt while many in the world don't have a shirt on their back, every spring railroad foundations erode to reveal human remains, and would-be emigrants are told "abandon all hope all ye who would exit here". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Verconia's national animal is the Falcon, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Machina Deus.

Verconia is ranked 281,603^rd in the world and 4,910^th in The East Pacific for Highest Foreign Aid Spending, scoring -13.78 on the Clooney Contribution Index.