The Concordant Stratum of The Cypher Nine is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by Council Chairman Cypher One with an even hand, and renowned for its state-planned economy, rampant corporate plagiarism, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic, humorless population of 14.843 billion Cypherians 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 is primarily concerned with Education, although Healthcare, Environment, and Industry are also considered important, while Spirituality and Defense are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cypher One - Administrative Block. The average income tax rate is 99.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Cypher Ninean economy, worth a remarkable 3,982 trillion Fulcrums 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 mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism. Average income is an amazing 268,287 Fulcrums, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Protesters are up in arms over new nuclear power stations, scientists earn more grant money for reproducing old experiments than trying anything new, the combined alert sound of a nation simultaneously receiving a text message is a common cause of hearing damage, and nuclear physics is the most popular course at university. Crime is totally unknown. The Cypher Nine's national animal is the Voltaic Shark, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

The Cypher Nine is ranked 3,906^th in the world and 66^th in Forest for Highest Food Quality, scoring 225.31 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.