The Republic of Laches is a massive, pleasant nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 3.85 billion Lachesians 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, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 19.3%.

The Lachesian economy, worth 170 trillion Drachmas a year, is led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Gambling, Furniture Restoration, and Book Publishing. Average income is 44,407 Drachmas, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.0 times as much as the poorest.

Surveillance cameras are banned, it is illegal to make racist remarks in public, the country's famous rainforests are being bulldozed by the mining industry, and blind students are at a disadvantage now that test papers printed in braille have been discontinued. Crime is moderate. Laches's national animal is the Horse, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Laches is ranked 294,355^th in the world and 4,735^th in Artificial Solar System for Largest Basket Weaving Sector, scoring -7.75 on the Hickory Productivity Index.