The Holy Empire of Stephond is a mammoth, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy and stringent health and safety legislation. The cynical population of 7.786 billion Stephondians enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 37.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Stephondian economy, worth 102 trillion pounds 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 a slick, highly efficient black market in Arms Manufacturing, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, Uranium Mining, and Automobile Manufacturing. 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 13,131 pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Politicians look weirdly alike, the tenet of free speech is held dear, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, and it is said that a Stephondian woman's work is never done. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Stephond's national animal is the giraffe.

Stephond is ranked 237,676^th in the world and 5^th in THE WORLD for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 112.99 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.