The Confederacy of Shangrala is a huge, cultured nation, notable for its national health service, public floggings, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 374 million Shangralans are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 41.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Shangralan economy, worth 23.5 trillion guilders a year, is quite specialized and led by the Trout Farming industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. Black market activity is extensive. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 62,738 guilders, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Police reduce their paperwork by refusing to arrest anyone, lines of trenches demarcate the nation's borders, party affiliation is just as irrelevant as campaign promises, and homes have been banned from having any more than one wheel. Crime, especially youth-related, is well under control, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shangrala's national animal is the eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Shangrala is ranked 75,919^th in the world and 71^st in Sophia for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 3,303.63 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.