The Sultanate of The New Universe is a huge, pleasant nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape. The hard-working, democratic, devout population of 980 million New Universeans 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 tiny government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Welfare, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 8.6%.

The strong New Universean economy, worth 56.5 trillion ctoloes a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Furniture Restoration, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 57,675 ctoloes, with the richest citizens earning 6.8 times as much as the poorest.

Scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region, and the public health bureaucracy is wrapped in miles of red tape. Crime is moderate, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. The New Universe's national animal is the giraffe, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

The New Universe is ranked 216,771^st in the world and 423^rd in Starlight for Most Cultured, scoring 64 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.