The Republic of Parens Patriae is a colossal, orderly nation, remarkable for its aversion to nipples, national health service, and avowedly heterosexual populace. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 7.744 billion Parens Patriaeans are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government is primarily concerned with Defense, with Law & Order, Industry, and Administration also on the agenda. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Parens Patriaean economy, worth a remarkable 4,458 trillion currencies a year, is broadly diversified and mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Uranium Mining, and Retail. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is a breathtaking 575,689 currencies, but there is an enormous disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 3,438,716 per year while the poor average 43,916, a ratio of 78.3 to 1.

Ancestry test results arrive bundled with patent applications, children are expected to carve their own toys, new research always seems to support government initiatives, and the alien invasion siren sounds eerily like a UFO. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Parens Patriae's national animal is the animal, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Parens Patriae is ranked 788^th in the world and 4^th in Vickenian experiment incubator for Largest Black Market, with 7,033 trillion Standard Monetary Units.