The Republic of Starlight Calendula is a massive, orderly nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, smutty television, and enslaved workforce. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless, devout population of 2.343 billion Starlight Calendulans 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, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.2%.

The frighteningly efficient Starlight Calendulan economy, worth 268 trillion lotuses a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 114,737 lotuses, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 374,435 per year while the poor average 26,448, a ratio of 14.2 to 1.

The Not a Tax Haven Foundation is the most popular charity, male friends are often accompanied by a female relative in order to prove their 'straightness', the government is flooded with compensation requests, and the sun rises an hour later on border communities. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Starlight Calendula's national animal is the moonlark, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Starlight Calendula is ranked 290,499^th in the world and 4,689^th in eta for Nicest Citizens, with 1.69 average smiles per day.