The State of Maertel is a gargantuan, safe nation, renowned for its public floggings. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 35.673 billion Maertelians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Industry, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital Heights. The average income tax rate is 12.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The strong Maertelian economy, worth a remarkable 1,226 trillion betales a year, is quite specialized and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Trout Farming, and Gambling. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 34,386 betales, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Military spending is on the increase, citizens are bombarded with advertising from their compulsory minature radios, record sales of 'child-whacking sticks' have been recorded, and Maertel has designated Capital Heights as its capital city. Crime, especially youth-related, is relatively low, thanks to a capable police force. Maertel's national animal is the deer, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Maertel is ranked 97,212^th in the world and 357^th in State for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 34.23 on the Bus Surprisal Index.