The Republic of Ariert is a massive, efficient nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy, pith helmet sales, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful population of 2.834 billion Ariertians 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, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Defense, and Education. The average income tax rate is 95.6%.

The frighteningly efficient Ariertian economy, worth 577 trillion marks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 203,738 marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Protesters against the government are hanged as a warning to others, citizens are regularly arrested in queues for 'loitering', it is illegal to brush crumbs off your clothing outdoors, and armed security details escort librarians to their homes. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ariert's national animal is the dove, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Ariert is ranked 130,680^th in the world and 1,641^st in the West Pacific for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 816.62 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.