The Republic of Ewa1 is a mammoth, safe nation, renowned for its compulsory military service and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed population of 9.615 billion Ewa1ians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 32.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Ewa1ian economy, worth 323 trillion dollars a year, is led by the Woodchip Exports industry, with major contributions from Furniture Restoration, Trout Farming, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 33,635 dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Arbitrary election rules are considered sacrosanct, tie-dye has been outlawed for being 'too occult', returning tourists and businessmen are detained without trial if they belong to the "wrong" religion, and access to the woods is only granted to those who bring a small shrubbery. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ewa1's national animal is the falcon.

Ewa1 is ranked 127,895^th in the world and 3^rd in Silent for Largest Black Market, with 1.57 trillion Standard Monetary Units.