Halvastaland

The Republic of Halvastaland is a large, efficient nation, notable for its irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 74 million Halvans are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The tiny, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 7.6%.

The very strong Halvastalandian economy, worth 4.53 trillion Dollars a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Trout Farming, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 61,256 Dollars, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 185,853 per year while the poor average 15,695, a ratio of 11.8 to 1.

The mining industry is making inroads into environmentally sensitive areas, the people consider response to rudeness to be an acceptable casus belli, the latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller, and a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway. Crime is a problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Halvastaland's national animal is the Fox.