The Republic of Izern 223 is a huge, safe nation, remarkable for its unlimited-speed roads, irreverence towards religion, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed population of 649 million Izern 223ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 41.9%.

The strong Izern 223ian economy, worth 39.4 trillion izerns 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 slick, highly efficient, fairly diversified black market in Book Publishing, Uranium Mining, Cheese Exports, and Arms Manufacturing. 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 60,643 izerns, with the richest citizens earning 8.9 times as much as the poorest.

Only those who apply can study applied maths, the masses are surrendering their civil liberties without complaint for the sake of shopping convenience, soldiers with colourful mohawks make themselves perfect targets for snipers, and most believe it doesn't hurt to embrace free trade. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Izern 223's national animal is the izern, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Izern 223 is ranked 277,341^st in the world and 669^th in Izern for Most Cultured, scoring 58 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.