The Constitutional Monarchy of Marcessia is a huge, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service, pith helmet sales, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 997 million Marcessians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The relatively small, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Marlesbourg. The average income tax rate is 15.1%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Marcessian economy, worth 82.3 trillion Marc Geulds a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Automobile Manufacturing, and Tourism. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 82,524 Marc Geulds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

50% of adverts on children's television are for clothes made of cotton wool, political visitors are forced to stop ten paces from Leader's throne, every week is blindness awareness week, and postcards from Marcessian driving test centres are popular souvenirs. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Marcessia's national animal is the Monkey, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Marcessia is ranked 272,808^th in the world and 17^th in Banfield for Nicest Citizens, with 6.19 average smiles per day.