The State of Tharshish is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by the Governor with a fair hand, and notable for its irreverence towards religion, absence of drug laws, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 15.926 billion Tharshishians live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The minute, liberal, pro-business, outspoken government, or what there is of one, is solely concerned with Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Westminster. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 4.2%.

The strong Tharshishian economy, worth 819 trillion betales a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is fairly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Furniture Restoration, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is 51,469 betales, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 331,725 per year while the poor average 3,226, a ratio of 102 to 1.

The government is reining in public spending, Tharshish has designated Westminster as its capital city, The Governor has just been declared ruler of Tharshish in an international press conference, and the government's official stance on religion is that it is so very silly. Crime is a major problem, probably because of the absence of a police force. Tharshish's national animal is the deer, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Tharshish is ranked 205,096^th in the world and 348^th in United States of America for Most Corrupt Governments, with 1.16 kickbacks per hour.