The Commonwealth of Schilage is a large, safe nation, notable for its frequent executions, compulsory military service, and state-planned economy. The compassionate population of 167 million Schilagians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 46.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Schilagean economy, worth 7.87 trillion aces a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Furniture Restoration industry, with major contributions from Automobile Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is 47,109 aces, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The dictionary is a common first book for children, politicians are often found scavenging bins at night to supplement their income, clowns are being rounded up and admitted to mental institutions, and the recycled air in planes is nauseating. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Schilage's national animal is the wombat, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Schilage is ranked 240,992^nd in the world and 12^th in Solidarity for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 28.8 on the Bus Surprisal Index.