The Federation of Alverso is a massive, efficient nation, ruled by State Overseer with an iron fist, and notable for its pith helmet sales, soft-spoken computers, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 1.182 billion Alversoans are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Jurong. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 54.5%.

The all-consuming Alversoan economy, worth 169 trillion Slips 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, broadly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Retail, and Cheese Exports. 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 143,079 Slips, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 471,529 per year while the poor average 32,507, a ratio of 14.5 to 1.

Diners regard burgers made from mechanically reclaimed cow protein as "proper meat", military spending is on the increase, people who tease dwarfs are being cut down to size, and bike rage is all the rage. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Alverso's national animal is the cow, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Alversoianism.

Alverso is ranked 104,567^th in the world and 1,041^st in the Pacific for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 1,708.77 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.