The Empire of Gerwies is a huge, safe nation, renowned for its keen interest in outer space, daily referendums, and digital currency. The compassionate, hard-working population of 551 million Gerwiesians 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Hannover. The average income tax rate is 29.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Gerwiesian economy, worth 31.4 trillion Euros a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Woodchip Exports, Uranium Mining, and Book Publishing. Average income is 56,957 Euros, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.9 times as much as the poorest.

Loud Patriotic Music Day has been ranked the seventh best new holiday of the year, polling place volunteers are suddenly opening a huge number of offshore bank accounts, weapons produced by newly nationalized armaments factories have been found to contain sawdust instead of gunpowder, and property subletting is going underground. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gerwies's national animal is the Fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Gerwies is ranked 127,958^th in the world and 639^th in Europe for Highest Disposable Incomes, with 40,155.17 Standard Monetary Units.