The Democratic Republic of Elyran is a tiny, cultured nation, remarkable for its punitive income tax rates, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 12 million Elyranians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The large, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 67.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The struggling Elyranian economy, worth 267 billion guilders 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 mostly made up of the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Basket Weaving, and Retail. Average income is 22,319 guilders, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The average commuter spends four hours a day driving to and from work, they unpaved paradise and tore up a parking lot (ooh, bop bop bop), time flies when you're not having fun, and the combined alert sound of a nation simultaneously receiving a text message is a common cause of hearing damage. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Elyran's national animal is the rat, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Elyran is ranked 196,472^nd in the world and 115^th in Democratic Socialist Assembly for Largest Pizza Delivery Sector, scoring 63.79 on the Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index.