The Republic of Ballaria is a colossal, cultured nation, notable for its ubiquitous missile silos, state-planned economy, and frequent executions. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 3.399 billion Ballarians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The relatively small, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Balleth. The average income tax rate is 46.2%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Ballarian economy, worth a remarkable 1,072 trillion Doubloons 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 an enormous, deeply entrenched, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Uranium Mining. 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 amazing 315,447 Doubloons, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

The practice of capital punishment proves divisive, sniffer dogs are trained to follow clouds of fruity-smelling vapor, a certain animated paperclip is enjoying his sunset years at the government's expense, and people's charity begins and ends at home. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Ballaria's national animal is the Pig, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Ballaria is ranked 82,676^th in the world and 967^th in the South Pacific for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 2,756.03 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.