The Kritarchy of Aranausta is a titanic, cultured nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service, complete absence of social welfare, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, devout population of 18.869 billion Aranaustans enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The minute, liberal, pro-business government, or what there is of one, is primarily concerned with Spirituality, with Law & Order and Defense also on the agenda, while Social Policy and Welfare are ignored. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 4.9%.

The strong Aranaustan economy, worth a remarkable 1,242 trillion kels a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Gambling, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is 65,864 kels, but there is an enormous disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 396,969 per year while the poor average 4,915, a ratio of 80.8 to 1.

Voting is voluntary, the tenet of free speech is held dear, the government is seen to favor traditionalist religions, and children are raised bilingual from an early age. Crime is a problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Aranausta's national animal is the leopard, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Aranausta is ranked 62,620^th in the world and 1^st in Somewhere for Most Cultured, scoring 69 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.