The Republic of Costamar is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, notable for its smutty television, irreverence towards religion, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic, humorless population of 26.666 billion Costamarians 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, pro-business government, or what there is of one, is solely concerned with Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Armas. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 1.9%.

The thriving Costamarian economy, worth a remarkable 3,039 trillion pesetas a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Gambling, Retail, and Information Technology. Average income is an impressive 113,972 pesetas, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 1,041,678 per year while the poor average 1,360, a ratio of 765 to 1.

The lowest age at which one can marry has been recently lowered to 12, 'Mountain Doobie' is widely regarded as the nation's favourite drink, Max Barry is this year's Miss Costamar, and the death penalty has been reintroduced. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, probably because of the absence of a police force. Costamar's national animal is the cuervo, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Costamar is ranked 2,880^th in the world and 1^st in Mum for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 199.67 on the Bus Surprisal Index.