The Riche of Yrsul is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by Roman Armati with an even hand, and notable for its ritual sacrifices, ubiquitous missile silos, and frequent executions. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 18.8 billion Yrsulians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 46.8%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Yrsulian economy, worth a remarkable 2,136 trillion Richekredyts 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 large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Tourism, Retail, and Arms Manufacturing. 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 an impressive 113,667 Richekredyts, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.0 times as much as the poorest.

Protesters are up in arms over new nuclear power stations, power stations shutting down at night has made bedtime reading tricky, imprisonment is the leading cause of disownment, and the government defends a woman's right to choose. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Yrsul's national animal is the Phoenix, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Europanism.

Yrsul is ranked 299,689^th in the world and 13^th in Fourth Karpati Pact for Nicest Citizens, with 1.08 average smiles per day.