The Republic of Hows is a mammoth, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its disturbing lack of elderly people, parental licensing program, and keen interest in outer space. The compassionate, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 8.855 billion Howsians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 48.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Howsian economy, worth a remarkable 1,238 trillion kronor a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Information Technology, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 139,912 kronor, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 651,516 per year while the poor average 18,020, a ratio of 36.2 to 1.

Women don't report crimes to the emergency services for fear of being arrested, uploading purple prose to social media earns a place on a government watchlist, war memorials have been modified to include hammocks for napping, and dreams of entering the Super League have been relegated to the history books. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hows's national animal is the swan, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Hows is ranked 130,774^th in the world and 7,325^th in Lazarus for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,486.47 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.