The Grand Duchy of Ratling is a mammoth, genial nation, notable for its daily referendums, irreverence towards religion, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 5.163 billion Ratlings are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Clementine. The average income tax rate is 85.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Ratlingian economy, worth 423 trillion legumes 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 Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Trout Farming, and Book Publishing. Average income is 82,103 legumes, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Back-alley circumcision clinics are popping up all over the nation, tree farms across the nation are overrun by clipboard-wielding biologists, the transition from trojan horses to regular old horses is on track, and the Museum of Blackacrean War Crimes is located on "Blackacre Did Nothing Wrong Avenue". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ratling's national animal is the vulpes vulpes, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Nonexistent.

Ratling is ranked 9,733^rd in the world and 219^th in The Communist Bloc for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 5,654.52 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.