The Free Land of Phodopus is a very large, genial nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, absence of drug laws, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic population of 222 million Phodosians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 79.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Phodopusian economy, worth 11.2 trillion Cricets a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is dominated by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 50,667 Cricets, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Conspiracy theorists allege that the government is spying on them through their carbon monoxide detectors, confessions don't count if suffixed with "izzle", the government is promoting multicultural values with the new 'Just Be Nice, OK?' initiative, and body doubles and armed bodyguards escort witnesses to and from courtrooms. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Phodopus's national animal is the Prairie Vole, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Phodopus is ranked 318,868^th in the world and 3,976^th in The North Pacific for Largest Black Market, with 3.00 billion Standard Monetary Units.