The Federal Republic of Ripsylvania is a huge, cultured nation, ruled by Parliament with a fair hand, and renowned for its compulsory military service, smutty television, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 913 million Ripsylvanians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Breitenfeld. The average income tax rate is 77.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Ripsylvanian economy, worth 66.5 trillion scritches a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is mostly made up of the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Retail, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 72,814 scritches, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Stealing from a clothesline is a serious offence, the new 'Who Wants To Be A Politician' election debate auditions are more popular than the debates themselves, sending sick politicians "Get Well Soon" cards is considered bribery, and white strait-jackets are the new orange jumpsuits. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ripsylvania's national animal is the Wooly Scragglemuffin, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ripsylvania is ranked 152,175^th in the world and 5,827^th in The East Pacific for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring -4.9 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.