The Holy Empire of Verhavenstadt is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Julius Schwarzgeld with an even hand, and notable for its smutty television, rampant corporate plagiarism, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 9.75 billion Verhavenstadters are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Verhavenstadt. The average income tax rate is 74.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Verhavenstadtian economy, worth a remarkable 1,262 trillion Guilders a year, is highly specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Tourism. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 129,488 Guilders, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The new 'Who Wants To Be A Politician' election debate auditions are more popular than the debates themselves, most ambassadors from Verhavenstadt retire only a few years after being appointed, replacement organs are grown in vats, and mums always ask their three-year-olds for permission before hugging them. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Verhavenstadt's national animal is the Parrot, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Ancient Humanism.

Verhavenstadt is ranked 9,342^nd in the world and 10^th in The Confederacy of Free Nations for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 421.62 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.