The Commonwealth of Model 97 is a huge, cultured nation, notable for its keen interest in outer space, complete lack of prisons, and national health service. The compassionate, democratic population of 656 million Modelians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Trenchia. The average income tax rate is 31.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The strong Model 97ian economy, worth 42.0 trillion shells a year, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Pizza Delivery, Book Publishing, and Uranium Mining. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 63,972 shells, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Glancing at the car radio display while driving is treated as attempted homicide, thousands of children die every day from easily curable illnesses, airport announcements inform passengers that flights have been delayed because pilots are having afternoon naps, and janitors and factory workers are often better educated than the bosses they work for. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Model 97's national animal is the pheasant, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Model 97 is ranked 32,843^rd in the world and 460^th in the West Pacific for Most Cultured, scoring 78 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.