The State of Hyphen is a mammoth, efficient nation, renowned for its museums and concert halls, multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, and zero percent divorce rate. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless, devout population of 9.477 billion Hyphenians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The enormous, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Samarra. The average income tax rate is 91.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Hyphenian economy, worth a remarkable 1,719 trillion gold dinars 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, highly specialized black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Tourism. 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 impressive 181,445 gold dinars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.8 times as much as the poorest.

Racial supremacists have a burning desire to deal with immigrants, citizens are now allowed to discuss whether Leader is the greatest ruler ever or simply the greatest ruler of this generation, professionals are ready to retire by the time they receive permission to use their credentials, and the military invades any neighboring nation with the gall to criticize its policies. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hyphen's national animal is the black eagle, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Hyphen is ranked 320,258^th in the world and 2^nd in Tafilah Region for Safest, scoring 6.35 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.