The United Socialist States of Big Zebra is a huge, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion, restrictive gun laws, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 785 million Big Zebrans 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, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Mid-Sized Zebra. The average income tax rate is 77.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Big Zebran economy, worth 53.7 trillion bucks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Basket Weaving, Trout Farming, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 68,455 bucks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation's counterintelligence budget is all up in the air, multiple births are a cause of celebration for tax collectors, citizens praise the weeds that overwhelm their narrow vegetable realm, and ministers browse Alright! magazine for fashion tips. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Big Zebra's national animal is the zebra, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Big Zebra is ranked 58,503^rd in the world and 1^st in Beef for Largest Trout Fishing Sector, scoring 4,372.69 on the Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index.