The Democratic Republic of Ghurlan is a massive, socially progressive nation, ruled by General Secretary with an even hand, and remarkable for its sprawling nuclear power plants, multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate population of 1.633 billion Ghurlanis are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Ghurlstadt. The average income tax rate is 91.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Ghurlanian economy, worth 142 trillion Ghurls 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 Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 87,012 Ghurls, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it... Ghurlanian satellites can detect it, mantis shrimp studies is academia's fastest-growing field, people have become comfortably numb, and candidates make campaign speeches at the funerals of former rivals. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ghurlan's national animal is the Reindeer, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Radical Pantheism.

Ghurlan is ranked 128,753^rd in the world and 182^nd in The Leftist Assembly for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,294.45 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.