The Layaqua of Pioneer Pool is a gargantuan, orderly nation, ruled by The Grand Layaq Council with an iron fist, and notable for its compulsory military service, keen interest in outer space, and pith helmet sales. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful population of 10.991 billion Layaqs are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Lane Pools. The average income tax rate is 97.1%.

The frighteningly efficient Layaq economy, worth a remarkable 5,013 trillion Layaq Flimnyas a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Tourism, Retail, and Soda Sales. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an amazing 456,132 Layaq Flimnyas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Hedge fund managers are diversifying into herbaceous borders, citizens who want to celebrate the holidays generally deck the halls with old newspaper trimmings and dirty socks, the government has the power to seize property at will, and families are left homeless as entire suburbs are bulldozed on the whim of tribal chiefs. Crime is totally unknown. Pioneer Pool's national animal is the Swimming Instructor, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Life Guardiasm.

Pioneer Pool is ranked 285,966^th in the world and 1,424^th in Europe for Safest, scoring 5.17 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.