The Empire of Midshire is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Princeps with an even hand, and remarkable for its multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, daily referendums, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 25.98 billion Midshireans enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

The tiny, liberal government prioritizes Education, with Industry, Environment, and Healthcare also on the agenda, while Spirituality and International Aid are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Dundee. The average income tax rate is 45.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Midshirean economy, worth an astonishing 13,456 trillion pints a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is a breathtaking 517,961 pints, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation's universities are often mistaken for foreign embassies, in a fit of passion Princeps has shredded thirty years' worth of petitions, mathematicians are gathering an infinite number of worms and typewriters to see if they can recreate the works of Max Barry, and excessive wheelchair ramps on government buildings have been compared to theme park attractions. Crime is totally unknown. Midshire's national animal is the worm, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Midshire is ranked 5,577^th in the world and 1^st in Gay Equality for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring 8,137.98 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.