The Fiefdom of Pays Cathare is a huge, safe nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, irreverence towards religion, and suspicion of poets. The compassionate population of 490 million Pays Cathareans are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, moralistic government prioritizes Law & Order, although Defense, Education, and Public Transport are also considered important. The average income tax rate is 39.1%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Pays Catharean economy, worth 25.1 trillion Cathares a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Cheese Exports industry, with major contributions from Basket Weaving, Woodchip Exports, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 51,123 Cathares, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

Inter-species marriages are ignored by the government, the entire entry for Pays Cathare in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the World reads 'mostly harmless', appendix transplant figures have recently doubled, and the "daily grind" consists of levelling up in tedious video games. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pays Cathare's national animal is the lamb, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Pays Cathare is ranked 77,530^th in the world and 401^st in Europe for Largest Basket Weaving Sector, scoring 3,851.52 on the Hickory Productivity Index.