The Democratic States of Ijo is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by Mister X with an even hand, and notable for its vat-grown people, infamous sell-swords, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, humorless population of 12.681 billion Ijoanas have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Ijoa. The average income tax rate is 12.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Ijoan economy, worth a remarkable 1,229 trillion Indonesian Rupiahs 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, highly specialized black market in Information Technology, Tourism, and Book Publishing. 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 96,931 Indonesian Rupiahs, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

New funding allows inner city teachers to replace school laptops almost as fast as they get stolen, the Ministry of Health has reported a sharp increase in the incidence of delayed menopause, rumor has it that Mister X has won three lotteries in a row, and at customs baggage gets an x-ray and female travelers get an ultrasound. Crime, especially youth-related, is pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Ijo's national animal is the Eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Zen Buddhism.

Ijo is ranked 22,896^th in the world and 901^st in The North Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 259.56 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.