The Confederacy of Hertalin is a massive, socially progressive nation, notable for its hatred of cheese, absence of drug laws, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 2.287 billion Hertalinese are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 88.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Hertalinese economy, worth 205 trillion pounds a year, is highly specialized and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Book Publishing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 89,650 pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The question of 'what is Leader's favorite color?' has been given a priority rating of burnt-orange, money that should have gone to charities is instead spent on monitoring them, a primitive society is being eroded as its youth flock to the modern world, and barbed wire entanglements and guard towers surround the Hertalin City Natural History Museum. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hertalin's national animal is the dolphin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Hertalin is ranked 280,664^th in the world and 68^th in The Internationale for Most Patriotic, with 0.52 flags saluted per person per day.