The Imperialist Nation of Pennboro is a titanic, safe nation, ruled by Nolan with an even hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, ubiquitous missile silos, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 16.729 billion Pennboroans 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Enola. The average income tax rate is 28.8%.

The frighteningly efficient Pennboroan economy, worth a remarkable 1,924 trillion Aureuses a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 115,041 Aureuses, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.9 times as much as the poorest.

Advertisements read like science journal articles complete with extensive references, scientific journals publish third-graders' school essays, children are sent to either religious or secular schools, and preservative-laden Pennboroan cheeses will be as edible when archaeologists dig them up next millennium. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pennboro's national animal is the Bat, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Pennboro is ranked 105,551^st in the world and 4,064^th in Lazarus for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,933.5 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.