The Republic of Shinlan is a massive, safe nation, notable for its irreverence towards religion, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed population of 2.442 billion Shians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sunny Beach City. The average income tax rate is 63.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Shian economy, worth 55.7 trillion Australian dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Furniture Restoration industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Basket Weaving, and Information Technology. Average income is 22,803 Australian dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

A large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, the latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller, singles on the dating scene no longer worry about looking their age, and Shinlan has designated Sunny Beach City as its capital city. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shinlan's national animal is the Koala, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Shinlan is ranked 223,461^st in the world and 81^st in The Mood for Largest Pizza Delivery Sector, scoring -4.1 on the Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index.