The Republic of Epith Ughtistan is a small, orderly nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, compulsory military service, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 23 million Epith Ughtistanians are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The minute, pro-business, well-organized government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 5.8%.

The very strong Epith Ughtistanian economy, worth 1.44 trillion francs a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Woodchip Exports, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 62,595 francs, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 250,755 per year while the poor average 10,484, a ratio of 23.9 to 1.

Surveillance cameras are banned, scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes, organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region, and blue bloods are welcome in Epith Ughtistan. Crime is a serious problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Epith Ughtistan's national animal is the giraffe, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Epith Ughtistan is ranked 262,738^th in the world and 732^nd in Horizon for Nicest Citizens, with 8.23 average smiles per day.