The Biometropolis of Thyrnvalyn is a titanic, safe nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, smutty television, and keen interest in outer space. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful, devout population of 19.412 billion Ratatekkers 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 medium-sized, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 85.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Ratatasque economy, worth a remarkable 3,592 trillion ʝarls a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Basket Weaving. Average income is an impressive 185,053 ʝarls, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Parking lots are littered with coffee cups and doughnut crumbs, the Smalltopian embassy doubles as an electoral campaign headquarters, the banshee wail foretells skies of death, and scientists take credit every time it rains in A 1000 Buddha Lands in This World. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Thyrnvalyn's national animal is the swan, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Thyrnvalyn is ranked 70,384^th in the world and 1^st in A 1000 Buddha Lands in This World for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 3,013.33 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.