The State of Barde is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by the Governor with a fair hand, and renowned for its irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 44.38 billion Bardeans enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Industry, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Westminster. The average income tax rate is 28.0%.

The strong Bardean economy, worth a remarkable 1,562 trillion betales a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Furniture Restoration industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Uranium Mining, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 35,211 betales, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.5 times as much as the poorest.

Barde has designated Westminster as its capital city, The Governor has just been declared ruler of Barde in an international press conference, the government's official stance on religion is that it is so very silly, and octogenarian swimsuit models insist that they've still got it. Crime is moderate. Barde's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Barde is ranked 253,259^th in the world and 1^st in Barde for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 22.36 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.