The Four Islands of Bear Islands is a massive, genial nation, ruled by Jon-Patrick Barclay with a fair hand, and remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 1.661 billion Bear Islanders hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Beaufort. The average income tax rate is 81.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Bear Islandsian economy, worth 175 trillion bear coins a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Tourism, and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 105,600 bear coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Skateparks can be found in every city, a milk bath costs more than bathing in money, advert breaks are played at lower volumes to make them easier to ignore, and large-girthed charity workers assign themselves healthy wages for their work with starving children. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bear Islands's national animal is the bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Bear Islands is ranked 114,085^th in the world and 3,740^th in Osiris for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 960.57 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.