The Republic of Zahkarim is a huge, genial nation, renowned for its keen interest in outer space, suspicion of poets, and stringent health and safety legislation. The cynical population of 721 million Zahkarians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Welfare, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Zahkarim City. The average income tax rate is 45.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Zahkarimian economy, worth 34.7 trillion dollars a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Pizza Delivery, and Arms Manufacturing. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 48,059 dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

College students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, fidgety cubicle workers play with their balls, beaches are empty as the shark population multiplies exponentially, and all alcohol is banned. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zahkarim's national animal is the emu, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Zahkarim is ranked 294,923^rd in the world and 1,049^th in Talonia for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring -10.66 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.