The United Socialist States of Koltanie is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, state-planned economy, and sprawling nuclear power plants. The compassionate population of 739 million Koltanieans are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Dubanie. The average income tax rate is 81.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Koltaniean economy, worth 44.2 trillion francs a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Pizza Delivery, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 59,850 francs, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Juvenile delinquents are fitter than ever, whales in captivity live in little more than glorified goldfish bowls, aeroplanes have been converted into housing units after all air travel was outlawed, and political scientists despair as the national mascot election eclipses all others in voter enthusiasm. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Koltanie's national animal is the wolf, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Koltanie is ranked 285,308^th in the world and 592^nd in A Taco Paradise for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring -15.68 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.