The Democratic Republic of Illums is a very large, safe nation, notable for its compulsory military service, irreverence towards religion, and suspicion of poets. The quiet, industrious population of 231 million Illumsians enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 23.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Illumsian economy, worth 9.45 trillion peanuts a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Door-to-door Insurance Sales industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Pizza Delivery, and Woodchip Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 40,904 peanuts, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Illums's national animal is the cat, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Illums is ranked 110,998^th in the world and 976^th in the Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 89.44 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.