The Imperial Nation of Balan Bar is a titanic, genial nation, ruled by Teddy R Hammarskjöld II with an even hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, daily referendums, and compulsory military service. The compassionate population of 21.697 billion Balan Barians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Urbs de lumine. The average income tax rate is 93.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Balan Barian economy, worth a remarkable 3,420 trillion francs a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 157,632 francs, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Space has been brought down to earth with constellations of cancer cases across Balan Bar, crossword puzzles have been co-opted as a symbol of racial discrimination, gay couples have to travel to Brancaland to find a church that will actually let them wed, and the government has to take out its Visa to eliminate visas. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Balan Bar's national animal is the Fox, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is The Nine Divine.

Balan Bar is ranked 275,188^th in the world and 87^th in Conch Kingdom for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring -7.72 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.