The Rational Republic of Sanden is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Edmund Muskie with a fair hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, compulsory military service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful, devout population of 23.157 billion Sandenians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Notlock City. The average income tax rate is 86.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Sandenian economy, worth a remarkable 1,756 trillion Shards a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Pizza Delivery. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 75,848 Shards, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Major cities shut down as their local sports team takes to the field every day, UFO sightings are listed daily in the morning news, loans are available for students from poor families, and all streets are privately owned toll roads. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Sanden's national animal is the Peregrine Falcon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Rationalism.

Sanden is ranked 6,095^th in the world and 170^th in the South Pacific for Most Beautiful Environments, with 2,110.45 pounds of wildlife per square mile.