The United Socialist States of Syndicates is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, renowned for its public floggings, irreverence towards religion, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 14.548 billion Syndicatesians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government prioritizes Welfare, although Education, Healthcare, and Defense are also considered important, while Spirituality isn't funded at all. The average income tax rate is 66.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Syndicatesian economy, worth 206 trillion Barterings a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Basket Weaving, Book Publishing, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 14,198 Barterings, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Syndicates's national animal is the Ant, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Syndicates is ranked 144,006^th in the world and 5,582^nd in Balder for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 854.93 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.