The Democratic States of Vlearon is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy, ban on automobiles, and stringent health and safety legislation. The democratic population of 24.435 billion Vlearonians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 72.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Vlearonian economy, worth 87.7 trillion Dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, highly specialized black market in Book Publishing, Basket Weaving, Information Technology, and Soda Sales. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 3,587 Dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Surveillance cameras are banned, a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, the nightowl is a protected species, and cars are banned. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Vlearon's national animal is the nightowl, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Vlearon is ranked 237,050^th in the world and 25^th in A Liberal Haven for Most Corrupt Governments, with 0.82 kickbacks per hour.