The Empire of Verconia is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by Emperor Vercon with an iron fist, and renowned for its national health service, anti-smoking policies, and smutty television. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, cheerful population of 6.967 billion Verconians are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Veltcona. The average income tax rate is 93.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Verconian economy, worth a remarkable 2,093 trillion vercoins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 300,510 vercoins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Super Barry Brothers is the most popular video game in the nation, protesters are up in arms over new nuclear power stations, glamping Verconians won't sleep in a tent that doesn't include a Jacuzzi, and historical commemorations regularly devolve into militaristic jingoism. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Verconia's national animal is the Falcon, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is secularism.

Verconia is ranked 1,779^th in the world and 48^th in The East Pacific for Lowest Crime Rates, with 144.84 law-abiding acts per hour.