The Republic of the Provinces of Arantha is a mammoth, cultured nation, ruled by PM Barent van Lidenburg with a fair hand, and notable for its aversion to nipples, sprawling nuclear power plants, and unlimited-speed roads. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic, cheerful population of 5.487 billion Aranthans hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, liberal government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Arnestad. The average income tax rate is 13.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Aranthan economy, worth a remarkable 1,628 trillion vards a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Retail, and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 296,818 vards, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.3 times as much as the poorest.

Property subletting is going underground, news headlines suggest that PM Barent van Lidenburg has a sideline in guinea pig pimping, PM Barent van Lidenburg spends weekends doing the laundry of foreign leaders, and funeral directors are frequently looking at their watches during funerals. Crime is totally unknown. Arantha's national animal is the lion, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Arantha is ranked 3,645^th in the world and 146^th in The North Pacific for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 20,659.28 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.