The Kingdom of Atherfield is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by King Edward the Elder with an even hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, anti-smoking policies, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic population of 14.094 billion Atherfielders 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 Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Pyle. The average income tax rate is 78.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Atherfieldian economy, worth a remarkable 1,653 trillion vects a year, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Basket Weaving, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 117,328 vects, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

King Edward the Elder steals from the rich and gives to the needy, the government is deliberately installing bloatware onto computers, access to the woods is only granted to those who bring a small shrubbery, and press conferences always end with standing ovations and rapturous applause. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Atherfield's national animal is the giraffe, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is pagan.

Atherfield is ranked 21,176^th in the world and 3^rd in Vectis for Lowest Crime Rates, with 88.75 law-abiding acts per hour.