The State of Shelter Bay is a colossal, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape and irreverence towards religion. The hard-working, democratic population of 9.997 billion Shelter Bayians 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, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Welfare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 7.0%.

The very strong Shelter Bayian economy, worth 634 trillion betales a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 63,468 betales, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 237,873 per year while the poor average 11,841, a ratio of 20.1 to 1.

A large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, employers may fire workers without giving any reason, and the latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller. Crime is a problem, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Shelter Bay's national animal is the deer, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Shelter Bay is ranked 118,157^th in the world and 6^th in Joint Command for Highest Food Quality, scoring 19.83 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.