The Republic of -Melisandre- is a very large, safe nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, daily referendums, and state-planned economy. The hard-nosed, democratic, devout population of 225 million -Melisandre-ians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 58.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but underdeveloped -Melisandre-ian economy, worth 8.72 trillion pesos 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 Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Average income is 38,736 pesos, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Political dissidents are cut off from essential services, customs turn away those considered to have an unfavourable ethnicity, a referendum must be held in order for any new law to be passed, and the best way to get the government to U-turn is to squick out Leader. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. -Melisandre-'s national animal is the fox, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

-Melisandre- is ranked 74,010^th in the world and 72^nd in Shadow Realms for Highest Average Tax Rates, with 58.48 Effective Tax Rate.