The Dominion of Qaqalek is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by First Minister Throril Hesewos with an iron fist, and remarkable for its ritual sacrifices, hatred of cheese, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 18.564 billion Qaqalekians 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, corrupt, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 83.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Qaqalekian economy, worth a remarkable 1,875 trillion Ixams a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Retail industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining and Arms Manufacturing. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 101,044 Ixams, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.5 times as much as the poorest.

The path to inner peace is paved with state-mandated punishment, First Minister Throril Hesewos has returned as a hero from a brutal campaign to conquer the local beach, the latest electric jet fighter has almost enough battery charge to reach cruising altitude -- provided you don't use the radar, and Qaqalekian soldiers are assured their new ray-guns will finally power up after the next round of ominous chanting. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Qaqalek's national animal is the electric eel, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Qaqalek is ranked 225,477^th in the world and 5,549^th in the Rejected Realms for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -5.67 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.