The Republic of Izern 196 is a massive, efficient nation, remarkable for its digital currency, smutty television, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 1.918 billion Izern 196ians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, corrupt, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Izern 196ian economy, worth 216 trillion banks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized black market in Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Information Technology. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 112,826 banks, with the richest citizens earning 7.0 times as much as the poorest.

East Lebatuckese astronauts' favorite game during downtime on the Multinational Space Station is 'I Spy', foreign musicians that Leader dislikes are turned away at the border, only AIs know why the nation is rapidly increasing its semiconductor stockpile, and the first sword of Izern 196 does not run. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Izern 196's national animal is the card, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Izern 196 is ranked 204,896^th in the world and 410^th in Izern for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -1.67 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.