The Imperial Vicariate of Arleat is a huge, safe nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion, absence of drug laws, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 514 million Arleats are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Nancy. The average income tax rate is 74.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Arlesian economy, worth 49.3 trillion Guilders a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Automobile Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is 95,850 Guilders, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Funeral mourners ridesharing with the deceased are encouraged to sit on the coffin to save room, arguments about toilet seats being left up or down get surprisingly heated, the Ministry of Health has reported a sharp increase in the incidence of delayed menopause, and museums have more touchscreens on display than artifacts. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Arleat's national animal is the lion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Arleat is ranked 262,700^th in the world and 4,700^th in The East Pacific for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -8.38 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.