The Republic of Izern 239 is a huge, orderly nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, restrictive gun laws, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 648 million Izern 239ians 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, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 39.5%.

The Izern 239ian economy, worth 36.1 trillion izerns a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Cheese Exports. Black market activity is extensive. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 55,764 izerns, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 231,356 per year while the poor average 8,808, a ratio of 26.3 to 1.

The nation's reputation for treachery has left it sidelined on the international stage, military pilots spend more time scraping feathers off their engines than flying their aircraft, forty-year-old men are asked for their ID before watching the latest pony cartoon movies, and travelers are subject to extensive searches if beet stains are visible on their clothing. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Izern 239's national animal is the izern, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Izern 239 is ranked 245,688^th in the world and 852^nd in Izern for Most Developed, scoring 51.34 on the Human Development Index.