The Republic of Izern 21 is a massive, safe nation, remarkable for its pith helmet sales, public floggings, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, hard-working, cynical population of 1.701 billion Izern 21ians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 58.5%.

The powerhouse Izern 21ian economy, worth 152 trillion dollars a year, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Basket Weaving, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 89,784 dollars, with the richest citizens earning 7.4 times as much as the poorest.

The nation's universities are often mistaken for foreign embassies, students are explicitly allowed to write answers on their forearms before exams, the examiners who examine examiners are being examined by examiners, and Izern 21's first free elections in recent memory have been successfully concluded. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Izern 21's national animal is the emu.

Izern 21 is ranked 240,879^th in the world and 70^th in New Izern Farm Thingymabob for Largest Black Market, with 185 billion Standard Monetary Units.