The Syndicate of Horvis is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Sharvo with an iron fist, and notable for its state-planned economy, soft-spoken computers, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 6.13 billion Horvisians 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, corrupt, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Zovaian. The average income tax rate is 90.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Horvisian economy, worth 823 trillion Clangors a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, quite specialized black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Tourism. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 134,283 Clangors, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Children raised in multi-faith households claim the other deity would let them stay up later, holidaymakers sleep curled up on the floor as hotel beds are replaced with oversized bookcases, trade policy consists of ganging up on the new guy, and creative compliance measures ensure that high-ranking officials live in luxury while the country's coffers collect cobwebs. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Horvis's national animal is the Condor, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Gogwanism.

Horvis is ranked 84,678^th in the world and 4,137^th in Lazarus for Most Cultured, scoring 67 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.