The Republic of Hows is a mammoth, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its enslaved workforce, keen interest in outer space, and zero percent divorce rate. The compassionate, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 8.827 billion Howsians 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 government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 48.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Howsian economy, worth a remarkable 1,235 trillion kronor a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Information Technology, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 139,912 kronor, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 651,516 per year while the poor average 18,020, a ratio of 36.2 to 1.

Women don't report crimes to the emergency services for fear of being arrested, uploading purple prose to social media earns a place on a government watchlist, war memorials have been modified to include hammocks for napping, and dreams of entering the Super League have been relegated to the history books. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hows's national animal is the swan, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Hows is ranked 312,765^th in the world and 17,073^rd in Lazarus for Safest, scoring 8.91 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.