The Democratic People's Republic of Hyphen is a mammoth, orderly nation, notable for its frequent executions, hatred of cheese, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 9.606 billion Hyphenis are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The enormous, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 91.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Hypheni economy, worth a remarkable 1,691 trillion dollars 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 Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, 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 176,050 dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

Any reference to a higher being is punished with public shaming, lobotomies haven't been the same after the practice was severed, blue-collar workers agree that Thirdsday is the dreariest day of the week, and years of counter-terrorism planning are foiled by small details. 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 partridge, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Hyphen is ranked 128,244^th in the world and 1,952^nd in The North Pacific for Smartest Citizens, with 32.65 quips per hour.