The Democratic Republic of Ostendeutschland is a large, socially progressive nation, notable for its state-planned economy, irreverence towards religion, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 72 million Ostendeutschlanders are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Healthcare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 71.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Ostendeutschlander economy, worth 1.64 trillion marks 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 black market in Information Technology, Tourism, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. 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 22,809 marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Leader's recent "I have a dream that we will fight them by raking muck on the beaches" speech seems a little derivative to many, children of nonreligious parents are often barred from school festival events, photographers can be found hiding behind the curtains in Leader's bedroom, and conductors wield diamond-encrusted batons to fit in with their freshly gilded surroundings. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ostendeutschland's national animal is the eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Ostendeutschland is ranked 259,772^nd in the world and 1,021^st in The Communist Bloc for Most Patriotic, with 1.3 flags saluted per person per day.