The Empire of Gradanon is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Empress Cecilia with an iron fist, and notable for its museums and concert halls, smutty television, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 7.526 billion Gradonians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, corrupt, well-organized government is primarily concerned with Defense, although Healthcare, Law & Order, and Education are also considered important. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Darnstrad. The average income tax rate is 79.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Gradanonian economy, worth a remarkable 1,037 trillion Vulpions a year, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Trout Farming. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 137,866 Vulpions, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

One complaint of Gradanon's new periodic table is it's easy to confuse fearlessleaderium with gloriousleaderium, military pilots spend more time scraping feathers off their engines than flying their aircraft, national park visitors are reporting a rash of poison ivy sightings, and children as young as twelve are conscripted into the armed forces. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gradanon's national animal is the Silver Fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Gradilism.

Gradanon is ranked 264,619^th in the world and 6^th in Amaranth for Nicest Citizens, with 0.72 average smiles per day.