The Mystery Cult of Demeter is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Demeter with an even hand, and renowned for its keen interest in outer space, hatred of cheese, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, cheerful population of 28.299 billion Demeteriuses are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, corrupt, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Mount Olympus. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Demeter economy, worth a remarkable 9,887 trillion grains a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology and Tourism. Average income is an amazing 349,380 grains, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The military is slashing spending on conventional arms and diverting it to spending on prosthetic arms, libraries are now installed with jacuzzis and mini-bars, male med students learning female anatomy do so with their eyes tightly closed, and nobody looks each other in the eye at neighborhood block parties any more. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Demeter's national animal is the horse, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is The Eleusian Mysteries.

Demeter is ranked 345,720^th in the world and 8^th in Greek Islands for Largest Trout Fishing Sector, scoring -27.11 on the Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index.