The Democratic States of Westerhold is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Marcus Merides with a fair hand, and remarkable for its soft-spoken computers, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 5.111 billion Westerholdians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Starhaven. The average income tax rate is 56.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Westerholdian economy, worth 625 trillion Credits a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Book Publishing, Tourism, and Arms Manufacturing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 122,449 Credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Voter turnout for the election of the Junior Assistant for Non-Digital Media Strategies has been unsurprisingly low, shoppers have literally had their hands full since plastic bags were banned, a death threat has replaced 'hello' as an official greeting in the nation, and legislators work 24/7 due to an influx of single-issue bills. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Westerhold's national animal is the Eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Westerhold is ranked 103,302^nd in the world and 2,120^th in The North Pacific for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 1,685.75 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.