The Gold Christmas Friendship of Rhododendronius is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, deadly medical pandemics, and enslaved workforce. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 791 million Rhododendronians live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The tiny, pro-business, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Novus Rhodenia. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 4.8%.

The frighteningly efficient Rhododendronian economy, worth 100 trillion Gold Bars a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is an impressive 127,461 Gold Bars, but there is an enormous disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 792,490 per year while the poor average 8,793, a ratio of 90.1 to 1.

The government finds the idea of having an army to be rather distasteful, the cruise missile launchers on the field hospital roof are purely deterrent in purpose, citizens who leave the country are officially classed as traitors, and baby dolls thrown in the trash are a leading cause of panic attacks. Crime is a major problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Rhododendronius's national animal is the Reindeer, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Rhododendronius is ranked 80,230^th in the world and 1^st in IIII for Largest Basket Weaving Sector, scoring 3,773.07 on the Hickory Productivity Index.