The People's Republic of Impale is a very large, safe nation, renowned for its frequent executions, parental licensing program, and state-planned economy. The compassionate, democratic population of 354 million Impaleans love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 77.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Impalean economy, worth 40.2 trillion Industrial Marks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is an impressive 113,450 Industrial Marks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Soldiers on first dates introduce themselves only by their ranks and serial numbers, the government's foreign policy statements are less threatening than a World Assembly cease-and-desist letter, it's been a banner year for local vexillology, and a shipwreck is everyone's fault but the captain's. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Impale's national animal is the Iron Elk, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Impale is ranked 22,077^th in the world and 994^th in Lazarus for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 293.95 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.