The Commonwealth of Appelovich is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service, irreverence towards religion, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, cynical population of 214 million Appelovichians 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 23.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Appelovichian economy, worth 13.4 trillion Apples a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 62,690 Apples, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.9 times as much as the poorest.

Criminals rejoice in the streets as the entire police force is sent away on a training retreat, belief that Leader is a lizard-person from outer space has reached an all-time high, viewers get headaches from trying to read the screen full of small print warnings that precede most TV shows, and tradesmen will knock 10% off their fees if customers pay cash. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Appelovich's national animal is the Giraffe, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Appelovich is ranked 83,489^th in the world and 1,739^th in the South Pacific for Most Beautiful Environments, with 590.03 pounds of wildlife per square mile.