The Theocracy of Pharyngitis is a colossal, orderly nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, ban on automobiles, and aversion to nipples. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 2.84 billion Pharyngitisians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Pharynx. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 46.9%.

The frighteningly efficient Pharyngitisian economy, worth 357 trillion Hemoglobins a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Woodchip Exports, and Basket Weaving. Black market activity is frequent. Average income is an impressive 125,869 Hemoglobins, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 633,134 per year while the poor average 13,985, a ratio of 45.3 to 1.

Stocks go up when the internet says so, politicians accepting drinks in bars are executed for taking bribes, foreign entanglements are getting spicy, and it's a hard-knock life for the orphans doing factory work for a pittance. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pharyngitis's national animal is the Christmas Phagocyte, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Pharyngitis is ranked 140,748^th in the world and 47^th in Federation of Martian Colonies for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 946.91 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.