The Empire of Silvalbia is a huge, cultured nation, remarkable for its sprawling nuclear power plants, ubiquitous missile silos, and compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, hard-working population of 416 million Silvalbians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 24.1%.

The frighteningly efficient Silvalbian economy, worth 38.8 trillion Silmarks a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Information Technology, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 93,357 Silmarks, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.8 times as much as the poorest.

People often get liposuction to reduce their air fares, many politicians are serving jail time for minor drug offenses, school lockers are filled with fancy underwear, and supermarket milk is a shear-thickening fluid that can stop small-caliber bullets. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Silvalbia's national animal is the White Wolf.

Silvalbia is ranked 50,155^th in the world and 1,087^th in the South Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 147.7 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.