The Burlesque Republic of The Centauri is a behemoth, orderly nation, ruled by Emperor Jaffa with an iron fist, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, pith helmet sales, and sprawling nuclear power plants. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless, devout population of 51.361 billion Centauris are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The minute, corrupt, pro-business government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Centauri Prime. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Centaurian economy, worth an astonishing 47,369 trillion duckets a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Gambling, and Automobile Manufacturing. Average income is a breathtaking 922,292 duckets, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 8,639,909 per year while the poor average 8,281, a ratio of 1,043 to 1.

Citizens complain about a burning sensation after bathing, the ongoing space elevator construction project has elevated the national debt to all new levels, cash-strapped junkies lick rabbits for a cheap high, and Centaurian farm salmon are known for being both horribly diseased and remarkably acrobatic. Crime, especially youth-related, is so common that it is unusual to encounter someone following the law, probably because of the absence of a police force. The Centauri's national animal is the Narn, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is the pantheon of fifty deities.

The Centauri is ranked 16^th in the world and 1^st in Babylon 5 for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 71,687.47 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.