The Principality of Parentheses is a colossal, orderly nation, remarkable for its parental licensing program, free-roaming dinosaurs, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 2.721 billion Parenthesesians 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 Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Nooga. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 51.6%.

The frighteningly efficient Parenthesesian economy, worth 351 trillion legendaries a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Woodchip Exports, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is extensive. Average income is an impressive 129,293 legendaries, with the richest citizens earning 7.7 times as much as the poorest.

Parenthesesians incessantly needle their doctors for relief, money that should have gone to charities is instead spent on monitoring them, the government seizes all major gold finds, and college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Parentheses's national animal is the puppet, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Parentheses is ranked 23,390^th in the world and 98^th in International Puppet Storage for Largest Manufacturing Sector, scoring 30,800.05 on the Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index.