Civilization V Analyst: Civilizations

*This page last updated: 17 October, 2013 10:58 PST.

Civilizations

Each civilization has only one Leader choice. Leaders no longer have Traits; instead, each civilization has a unique Special Ability (for a list, see below the table).
Each civilization has two colors (primary and secondary) and a distinctive icon/badge instead of a flag.
Each civilization has at least one Unique Unit, and some also have a Unique Building or Unique Improvement, but roughly half have a second Unique Unit instead.
Civilization V shipped with 18 civilizations plus two available as downloadable content (DLC).
5 more civilizations have since been released as downloadable content (DLC).
9 more civilizations have been released with the Gods & Kings expansion.
9 more civilizations have been released with the Brave New World expansion, bringing the total to 43.

Civilization	Icon	Leader	Capital	Unique Unit	Unique U/B/I	Special Ability
America		Washington	Washington	Minuteman	B-17 UU	Manifest Destiny
Arabia		Harun al-Rashid	Mecca	Camel Archer	Bazaar UB	Ships of the Desert
Aztec		Montezuma	Tenochtitlan	Jaguar	Floating Gardens UB	Sacrificial Captives
China		Wu Zetian	Beijing	Chu-Ko-Nu	Paper Maker UB	Art of War
Egypt		Ramesses II	Thebes	War Chariot	Burial Tomb UB	Monument Builders
England		Elizabeth I	London	Longbowman	Ship of the Line UU	Sun Never Sets
France		Napoleon	Paris	Musketeer	Chateau UI	City of Light
Germany		Otto von Bismarck	Berlin	Panzer	Hanse UB	Furor Teutonicus
Greece		Alexander	Athens	Hoplite	Companion Cavalry UU	Hellenic League
India		Gandhi	Delhi	War Elephant	Mughal Fort UB	Population Growth
Iroquois		Hiawatha	Onondaga	Mohawk Warrior	Longhouse UB	The Great Warpath
Japan		Oda Nobunaga	Kyoto	Samurai	Zero UU	Bushido
Ottomans		Suleiman	Istanbul	Sipahi	Janissary UU	Barbary Corsairs
Persia		Darius	Persepolis	Immortal	Satrap's Court UB	Achaemenid Legacy
Rome		Augustus Caesar	Rome	Legion	Ballista UU	The Glory of Rome
Russia		Catherine	Moscow	Cossack	Krepost UB	Siberian Riches
Siam		Ramkhamhaeng	Sukhotai	Naresuan's Elephant	Wat UB	Father Governs Children
Songhai		Askia	Gao	Mandekalu Cavalry	Mud Pyramid Mosque UB	River Warlord
Mongolia*		Genghis Khan	Karakorum	Keshik	Khan UU	Mongol Terror
Babylon**		Nebuchadnezzar II	Babylon	Bowman	Walls of Babylon UB	Ingenuity
Spain**¹		Isabella	Madrid	Conquistador	Tercio UU	Seven Cities of Gold
Inca**		Pachacuti	Cusco	Slinger	Terrace Farm UI	Great Andean Road
Polynesia**		Kamehameha	Honolulu	Maori Warrior	Moai UI	Wayfinding
Denmark**		Harald Bluetooth	Copenhagen	Berserker	Ski Infantry UU	Viking Fury
Korea**		Sejong	Seoul	Hwach'a	Turtle Ship UU	Scholars of the Jade Hall
Austria¹		Maria Theresa	Vienna	Hussar	Coffee House UB	Diplomatic Marriage
Byzantium¹		Theodora	Constantinople	Dromon	Cataphract UU	Patriarchate of Constantinople
Carthage¹		Dido	Carthage	African Forest Elephant	Quinquereme UU	Phoenician Heritage
Celts¹		Boudicca	Edinburgh	Pictish Warrior	Ceilidh Hall UB	Druidic Lore
Ethiopia¹²		Haile Selassie	Addis Ababa	Mehal Sefari	Stele UB	Spirit of Adwa
Huns¹		Attila	Attila's Court	Battering Ram	Horse Archer UU	Scourge of God
Mayans¹		Pacal the Great	Palenque	Atlatlist	Pyramid UB	Long Count
Netherlands¹		William I of Orange	Amsterdam	Sea Beggar	Polder UI	East India Company
Sweden¹		Gustavus Adolphus	Stockholm	Hakkapeliitta	Carolean UU	Nobel Prize
Assyria²		Ashurbanipal	Assur	Siege Tower	Royal Library UB	Treasures of Nineveh
Brazil²		Pedro II	Rio de Janeiro	Pracinhas	Brazilwood Camp UI	Carnival
Indonesia²		Gajah Mada	Jakarta	Kris Swordsman	Candi UB	Spice Islanders
Morocco²		Ahmad al-Mansur	Marrakech	Berber Cavalry	Kasbah UI	Gateway to Africa
Poland²		Casimir III	Warsaw	Winged Hussar	Ducal Stable UB	Solidarity
Portugal²		Maria I	Lisbon	Nau	Feitoria UI	Mare Clausum
Shoshone²		Pocatello	Moson Kahni	Pathfinder	Comanche Riders UU	Great Expanse
Venice²		Enrico Dandolo	Venice	Merchant of Venice	Great Galleass UU	Serenissima
Zulus²		Shaka	Ulundi	Impi	Ikanda UB	Iklwa
Sumerians†		Gilgamesh	Ur	Phalanx	Ziggurat UB	Land of Two Rivers
Hittites†		Muwatallis	Hattusa	Heavy Chariot	Lion's Gate UB	First to Iron
Saxons†		Harold Godwinson	London	Huscarl	(none)	Briton Allies
Normans†		William I	Caen	Norman Knight	Motte and Bailey UI	Castle Builders
Goths†		Alaric I	Árheimar	Gadrauht	Hov UB	Healthy Pillaging

*Free DLC. **Paid DLC. †Scenario only. ¹Gods & Kings expansion pack ²Brave New World expansion pack

Special Abilities

Manifest Destiny (America): All land military units have +1 sight range. 50% discount when purchasing tiles.
Ships of the Desert (Arabia): Caravans gain 50% extended range. Your trade routes spread the home city's religion twice as effectively. Oil resources are doubled.
Sacrificial Captives (Aztecs): Gains Culture for the empire from each enemy unit killed.
Art of War (China): The Great General combat bonus is increased by 15%, and their spawn rate is increased by 50%.
Monument Builders (Egypt): +20% production towards Wonder construction.
Sun Never Sets (England): +2 movement for all naval units.
City of Light (France): Great Work tourism theme bonus doubled in the Capital.
Furor Teutonicus (Germany): Upon defeating a Barbarian unit inside an encampment, there is a 67% chance you earn 25 gold and they join your side. Pay 25% less for land unit maintenance.
Hellenic League (Greece): City-State influence degrades at half and recovers and twice the normal rate. (Units may trespass in City-State territory without Influence loss.)
Population Growth (India): Unhappiness from number of cities doubled, Unhappiness from number of Citizens halved.
The Great Warpath (Iroquois): Units move through Forest and Jungle in friendly territory as if it is Road. These tiles can be used to establish Trade Routes upon researching The Wheel. Caravans move along Forest and Jungle as if they were Roads.
Bushido (Japan): Units fight as though they were at full strength even when damaged. +1 Culture from each Fishing Boat, and +2 Culture from each Atoll.
Barbary Corsairs (Ottomans): All melee naval units have the Prize Ships promotion, allowing them to capture defeated ships. Pay only one-third the usual cost for naval unit maintenance.
Achaemenid Legacy (Persia): Golden Ages last 50% longer. During a Golden Age, units receive +1 Movement and a +10% Combat Strength bonus.
The Glory of Rome (Rome): +25% production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital.
Siberian Riches (Russia): Strategic Resources provide +1 Production, and Horse, Iron and Uranium Resources provide double quantity.
Father Governs Children (Siam): Food, Culture, and Faith from friendly City-States increased by 50%.
River Warlord (Songhai): Receive triple Gold from Barbarian encampments and pillaging Cities. Land units gain the War Canoe and Amphibious promotions, strengthening them while embarked.
Mongol Terror (Mongolia): Combat Strength +30% when fighting City-State units or attacking a City-State itself. All mounted units have +1 Movement.
Ingenuity (Babylon): Receive free Great Scientist when you discover Writing. Earn Great Scientists 50% faster.
Seven Cities of Gold (Spain): Gold bonus for discovering a Natural Wonder (bonus enhanced if first to discover it). Culture, Happiness, and tile yields from Natural Wonders doubled.
Great Andean Road (Inca): Units ignore terrain costs when moving into any tile with Hills. No maintenance costs for improvements in Hills; half cost elsewhere.
Wayfinding (Polynesia): Can embark and move over Oceans immediately. +1 Sight when embarked. +10% Combat Strength bonus if within 2 tiles of a Moai.
Viking Fury (Denmark): Embarked Units have +1 Movement and pay just 1 movement point to move from sea to land. Melee units pay no movement point cost to pillage.
Scholars of the Jade Hall (Korea): +2 science for all specialists and for all Great Person tile improvements. Receive a tech boost each time a scientific building/Wonder is built in the Korean capital.
Diplomatic Marriage (Austria): Can spend Gold to annex or puppet a City-State that has been your ally for 5 turns.
Patriarchate of Constantinople (Byzantium): Choose one more Belief than normal when you found a Religion.
Phoenician Heritage (Carthage): All coastal Cities get a free Harbor. Units may cross mountains after the first Great General is earned, taking 50 HP damage if they end a turn on a mountain.
Druidic Lore (Celts): +1 Faith per city with an adjacent unimproved Forest. Bonus increases to +2 Faith in Cities with 3 more more adjacent unimproved Forest tiles.
Spirit of Adwa (Ethiopia): Combat bonus (+20%) when fighting units from a Civilization with more Cities than Ethiopia.
Scourge of God (Huns): Raze cities at double-speed. Borrow City names from other in-game Civs. Start with Animal Husbandry technology. +1 Production from Pasture.
Long Count (Maya): After researching Theology, receive a bonus Great Person at the end of every Maya Long Count calendar cycle (every 394 years). Each bonus person can only be chosen once.
Dutch East India Company (Netherlands): Retains 50% of the Happiness benefits from a Luxury Resource if your last copy of it is traded away.
Nobel Prize (Sweden): Gain 90 Influence with a Great Person gift to a City-State. When declaring friendship, Sweden and their friend gets a +10% boos to Great Person generation.
Treasures of Nineveh (Assyria): Steal an enemy technology when taking a city. Can be used only once per city.
Carnival (Brazil): Tourism output doubled and spawn rate of Great Artists (all types) increased during Golden Ages.
Spice Islanders (Indonesia): The first 3 cities founded on continents other than where Indonesia started each provide 2 unique Luxury Resources (and can never be razed).
Gateway to Africa (Morocco): Receives +3 Gold and +1 Culture for each International Trade Route with a different civ or City-State. The Trade Route owners receive +2 Gold for each Trade Route sent to Morocco.
Solidarity (Poland): Receive a free Social Policy at the start of each new Era.
Mare Clausum (Portugal): Resource diversity grants twice as much Gold for Portugal in International Trade Routes.
Great Expanse (Shoshone): Founded cities start with additional territory. Units receive a combat bonus when fighting in their own territory.
Serenissima (Venice): Cannot gain settlers nor annex cities. Double the normal number of Trade Routes available. A Merchant of Venice appears after researching Optics. May purchase in puppeted cities.
Iklwa (Zulus): Melee units cost 50% less maintenance; all units receive 25% more experience from combat.
Land of Two Rivers (Sumeria): Receive free Great Scientist when you discover Writing. All units pay just 1 movement point to enter any tile adjacent to a river.
First to Iron (Hittites): Strategic Resources provide +1 Production and Horse and Iron Resources provide double quantity.
Briton Allies (Anglo-Saxons): City-State Influence degrades at half and recovers at twice the normal rate.
Castle Builders (Normans): Swordsmen can construct the Motte and Bailey unique improvement in the same time it takes a Worker to build a Fort.

City-States

City-States are single-city civilizations that do not found new cities or try to "win" the game. They will seek protection from one or more of the major civilizations.
There are five types: Cultured, Maritime, Militaristic, Mercantile, and Religious. The type determines what kind of rewards the city-state can give.
The nameplate UI (shown at right) for a city state is similar to that of a regular city, except that the icon on the right shows the Type and is color-coded for status (red for war, green for friendly, blue for allied), and there is a bar underneath showing current Influence.
When you first make contact with a City-State, it will give you a gift of gold (15). If you are the first civilization to contact them, the gift is larger (30). Religious city-states will give Faith rather than gold.
Your empire has an Influence rating with each city-state, which starts at Neutral. Hostile acts (such as trespassing, stealing territory with a Culture Bomb or declaring war) will reduce influence, and friendly acts (giving gifts of gold or units, or performing favors) will increase it. Influence decays rapidly over time, and so must be maintained, or it will drop back to Neutral.
With sufficient Influence, the city-state will become Friends with your empire, and will provide bonuses according to type: Culture for Cultured, Food for Maritime, Happiness for Mercantile, Faith for Religious, and a Militaristic state will periodically give you military units (unless you ask them to stop).
With even more Influence, the city-state may Ally with you. Alliance provides more of the same kind of bonus as Friendship, but an Allied city-state also gives you any Strategic or Luxury Resources they have access to, provides you visibility in their territory, and will join you in war if you are attacked (similar to a Vassal state in Civ IV). Allies will also vote for you in a UN election (each city-state has one vote, just like a regular civilization).
City-States can be friends with any civilization, but can only be allied with one at a time.
City-States can be conquered, in which case bonuses are lost and it becomes a normal city in your empire. Except that it cannot be razed, and other civilizations may have an incentive to try to recapture it from you and liberate it. If you recapture a city-state that was previously conquered by someone else, you will have an option to liberate it. If you do, the city-state will automatically ally with you, and you will receive a huge influence boost, but then it will decay over time just as normal.
City-States may periodically ask for favors (quests/missions) from friends. Missions might include clearing barbarians, defending against another civilization, connecting via road, building a Wonder, generating a specific type of Great Person, gaining access to a particular Luxury Resource, discovering a particular civilization's territory, or attacking a rival city-state. Completing missions will grant additional influence points.
City-States can capture enemy cities, but they will raze them unless this is not possible (cities cannot be razed if they were city-state or civilization capitals) and in this way they can have more than one city. I once saw Florence capture several rival city-states in the New World continent of a Terra map (where there were no civilizations to separate them). However, they can't found new cities.
City-State units will not enter a civilization's territory unless they are at war and attacking that civilization, even if they are friendly or allied. This makes allied city-states of limited use in many wars, since their units often can't get to the site of battle, and they won't attack enemies in your territory.
City-States do not appear to explore ruins or to attack Barbarian encampments.
Some Social Policies (notably in the Patronage tree) add to City-State influence or reduce the rate at which influence decays.
City-States have a Personality category: Friendly, Hostile, Neutral, or Irrational. Personality appears to be random from game to game.
A befriended Friendly city-state will usually make requests that require some peaceful action, like building a Wonder or constructing a road to them.
Influence with a Hostile city-state drops more quickly than normal. They will also make requests to bully neighboring city-states more often.
Neutral city-states are fairly even keel, and try to mind their own business.
City-States are very numerous; there are typically twice as many city-states as civilizations in a normal game.
City-State color scheme always has black as the secondary color.
If you are not friends with a city-state, trespassing in their territory causes a loss of Influence (unless you are Greece).
Since the release of the Gods & Kings expansion, City-States will no longer request that you conquer a rival; instead you may now "Bully" or Demand Tribute from a City-State. By moving a military force close to a City-State's borders, you can intimidate them (the icon will turn orange) and you will unlock the option to "Ask For Tribute", in which you can demand gold or a worker, with appropriate Influence penalties. Bullying a City-State will reduce your Influence and cause that City-State to cancel any available quests that it has offered you, and may incur diplomatic penalties with any civilization that has pledged protection to that City-State.
You can Pledge to Protect a city-state, which will increase the Influence "resting point" with that city-state by a small amount (instead of decaying all the way to zero). This does not appear to prevent or even deter other civilizations from bullying or attacking the city-state, but when they do, you will be offered a choice of ignoring the action (and losing Influence with the city-state), or issuing a stern reprimand and taking a small diplomatic hit with the civilization in question.
If a city-state is attacked by a rival civilization, sometimes you can try to bargain for peace using the "Make Peace With" diplomatic option (see below), but sometimes the city-state is locked in permanent war with the civilization and this is not possible.
List of City-State names by type (updated for Brave New World):

Maritime	Cultured	Militaristic	Mercantile	Religious
Cape Town	Brussels	Almaty	Antwerp	Geneva
Ormus	Bucharest	Belgrade	Cahokia	Jerusalem
Vancouver	Florence	Budapest	Colombo	La Venta
Manila	Buenos Aires	Hanoi	Genoa	Lhasa
Mombasa	Kuala Lumpur	Sidon	Hong Kong	Vatican City
Quebec City	Milan	Valetta	Antananarivo	Wittenburg
Ragusa	Monaco	Sofia	Singapore	Kathmandu
Panama City	Prague	M'banza-Kongo	Tyre	Ife
Sydney	Bratislava		Zanzibar
Riga	Yerevan		Zurich
Ur	Kabul		Samarkand
Byblos	Kiev		Malacca
Mogadishu	Kyzyl		Melbourne
Wellingtom	Bogota		Vilnius

Barbarians

Spawn from camps in fog-of-war territory. Camps provide gold when destroyed.
Are interested only in destruction. Will not build cities or occupy captured cities, only raze and pillage.
Camps on the coast will generate naval units. Seaborne barbarian units will blockade naval improvements, but don't appear to destroy them.
Civilian units (Workers and Settlers) attacked by barbarians will be captured and taken to the nearest encampment. There they can be recovered by any civilization that destroys the encampment. If you recover a unit belonging to another civilization, you will have the option to return it or take it for yourself.
Barbarians have three unique units: the Brute, Galley, and Hand-Axe.
Barbarian unit types allegedly can progress with that of the most advanced civilization, but most often lag behind.
Barbarian units are never upgraded, and do not appear to heal.
Germany and Ottomans have special abilities that allow them to convert Barbarian units to their own cause.
A civilization's units can't gain more than 30 XP from fighting barbarians.
If your civilization's Happiness meter reaches -20 or less, elements of your population will periodically stage revolts, with barbarian units appearing inside your borders.

Diplomacy

World Congress

Prior to the creation of the United Nations you'll have the option to interact with other civilizations via the World Congress. This body is created once any civilization meets every other nation in the world and researches Printing Press; that civilization become the Congress' host and receives several benefits. After it's established, every civilization gets a number of delegates that they can use to vote on resolutions (allied city-states also supply you with delegates). The two resolutions that are voted on each session are picked one by the host nation that first created the World Congress, and the other by the current leader who has the most delegates. The Congress initially meets every 30 turns, but the frequency increases as the game progresses. Delegates are assigned to each civilization, with the host getting twice as many. The number of delegates increases for each civilization as it reaches a new era, and in later eras City-State allies also contribute delegates. Ed Beach: "After the first resolutions are proposed, there’s a countdown until the Congress convenes, which will give you time to get allies on your side before the Congress votes on the proposed resolutions. The process then begins again, with the proposal of resolutions."

Rather than voting up or down on each resolution, you allocate each of your available delegates to a yes or no vote on one resolution or the other. For example, if you have two delegates, you can allocate both votes to one resolution or split them between two. Votes can be traded for or straight-up bought. Once passed, resolutions must be obeyed and cannot be ignored, but they can be repealed in subsequent meetings of the Congress (the vote process is the same as for passing them). Resolutions the World Congress can act on include:

World Leader: Designate a World Leader. If a Civilization receives support from enough Delegates in the Congress, that leader will attain Diplomatic Victory. The number of Delegates needed depends on the number of Civilizations and City-States in the game, and can be seen on the World Congress screen. If no Civilization receives enough support to win, the two Civilizations who received the most support permanently gain an additional Delegate to use in future sessions. May not be proposed by a Civilization. Automatically proposed at regular intervals once the World Congress becomes the United Nations.
Choose Host: Designate a Civilization to host the Congress. Being the host grants additional Delegates and the ability to propose resolutions. May not be proposed by a Civilization. Automatically proposed as Civilizations advance to later eras.
Ban Luxury: A Luxury resources is designated as immoral, endangered or otherwise inappropriate for use by the general population. As long as the ban is in place, Civilizations receive no Happiness benefit from this Luxury resource.
Embargo City-States: No International Trade Routes can be established with City-States. Any such Trade Routes are ended and must be reassigned.
Embargo: No International Trade Routes can be established between the chosen Civilization and any other Civilization. Any such Trade Routes are ended and must be reassigned.
World's Fair: Begins the World's Fair project. Once underway, Civilizations can contribute Production towards its completion by selecting it in the city production list. When complete, Civilizations receive bonuses based on how much they contributed. (1st place: Culture increased by 100% for 20 turns; 2nd place: Free Social Policy; 3rd place: 500 points towards next Golden Age.) Available once any Civilization discovers (?).
International Games: Begins the International Games project. Once underway, Civilizations can contribute Production towards its completion by selecting it in the city production list. When complete, Civilizations receive bonuses based on how much they contributed. (1st place: Tourism increased by 100% for 20 turns, Free Social Policy; 2nd place: +3 Happiness, one-time increase of 30 Influence with City-States; 3rd place: +3 Happiness.) Available once any Civilization discovers Radio.
International Space Station: Begins the International Space Station project. Once underway, Civilizations can contribute Production towards its completion by selecting it in the city production list. When complete, Civilizations receive bonuses based on how much they contributed. (1st place: International Space Station wonder appears in the Capital; 2nd place: Free Great Scientist; 3rd place: One time research boost.) Available once any Civilization discovers Satellites. (For more see the ISS wonder entry.)
Standing Army Tax: Unit maintenance costs are increased by 25% Gold.
Scholars In Residence: Members research technologies 20% faster if another member has already researched it
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: All Civilizations are prevented from constructing new nuclear weapons (Atomic Bomb and Nuclear Missile). Weapons already constructed, however, are not disarmed. Available once any Civilizations discovers Advanced Ballistics.
Cultural Heritage Sites: Wonders yield +3 Culture
Natural Cultural Sites: Worked Natural Wonders yield +5 Culture
World Religion: The civilization which has the most cities of this religion gets +2 delegates, this religion spreads faster, and the Holy City generates +50% Tourism
World Ideology: Designate an Ideology as the official World Ideology. Civilizations following that Ideology get an additional 2 Delegates. Public opinion in favor of that Ideology is increased for all Civilizations. There can be only one World Ideology at a time. Available once any civilization discovers Radio.
Art Funding: Increases generation of Great Writers, Artists and Musicians by 33%. Decreases generation of Great Scientists, Engineers and Merchants by 33%.
Science Funding: Increases generation of Great Scientists, Engineers and Merchants by 33%. Decreases generation of Great Writers, Artists and Musicians by 33%.
Historical Monuments: +2 Culture for each Great Person Improvement, +4 Culture for each Historical Landmark

Note: the rewards for the International Games as similar contest projects appear to be cumulative; in other words, if you win first place, you get all three rewards.

Late in the game, the World Congress becomes the United Nations, and there's an automatic new resolution to elect a world leader, which comes up every 10 turns until one is chosen, ending the game in diplomatic victory.

Ed Beach: "As it gets further and further along and you start going towards the diplomatic victory, you can send spies to other people's capital cities and use them as leverage to find out what the other states are going to vote for in the World Congress; you can actually trade votes in the World Congress as well."

Diplomat

There is a new type of Spy, the Diplomat. It is sent to a city like a regular Spy, but it doesn't steal techs, but instead listens for Intrigue and reports on how a civilization intends to vote on World Congress resolutions. If you have a Diplomat in a civilizations' city come vote time, you can use the Diplomat as a contact to facilitate vote-trading or vote-buying.

Diplomats are converted from normal Spies. "Do you want this spy to be a diplomat? A spy can be a diplomat if they are placed in the capital of another civilization you are not at war with. (If war is declared, your spy will escape the city.) A diplomat will not attempt to steal technology from the other player but will still provide intrigue. Once the World Congress convenes and the diplomat has begun schmoozing, you will be able to determine their opinion on proposals and trade for their support if needed. Diplomats also conduct propaganda that provides a boost to Tourism output to the target civilization."