Civilizations (Civ6)

Back to Civilization VI
Go to the list of leaders

Civilizations are playable factions, each of which represents a historical nation, empire or cultural group. Each civilization in Civilization VI has a unique ability (a.k.a. "trait") and two unique components: a unit and a piece of infrastructure, which may be a building, a district, or a tile improvement.

Civilization VI makes a distinction between a civilization and its leader, not unlike Civilization IV - each civilization can now have multiple leaders, and each leader comes with his or her own unique ability, which is added to the other unique traits of the civilization (and, in some cases, provides an additional unique unit, piece of infrastructure, and/or Governor that further augments that civ's and leader's specifics). When controlled by AI, each leader also pursues a specific agenda throughout the game, which modifies the AI behavior of this civilization. Thus the same civilization may behave quite differently throughout the game, depending on which leader leads it. A wise player will learn not only all different civilizations' special abilities and units, but also their leaders' special traits and agendas, which will allow him or her to anticipate the AI behavior during the game.

Vanilla Civilization VI included 18 different civilizations at the launch, with the Aztecs (19th) as a pre-order bonus that became available to everyone 90 days after the launch. The Poles, Australians, Persians, Macedonians, Nubians, Khmers, and Indonesians were later added as DLC. The Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions added 8 new civilizations each, bringing the total number of playable civilizations to 42. The New Frontier Pass will add another 8, for a total of 50 playable civilizations, the largest number in any game in the franchise to date.

Originally there was only one civilization with multiple leaders: the Greeks, who may be led by either Pericles or Gorgo. The Rise and Fall expansion added Chandragupta as an alternative leader to Gandhi for the Indians. The Gathering Storm expansion added Eleanor of Aquitaine, who can lead either the English or the French.

List of Civilizations

Icon	Civilization	Leader(s)	Civilization Ability	Unique Unit	Unique Infrastructure
	American	Teddy Roosevelt	Founding Fathers Government legacy bonuses accumulate in half the usual number of turns. All Diplomatic policy slots in the current government are converted to Wildcard slots. All Diplomatic policy slots in the current government are converted to Wildcard slots. +1 Diplomatic Favor per turn for each Wildcard slot in the current government.	P-51 Mustang	Film Studio
	Arabian	Saladin	The Last Prophet Automatically receives the final Great Prophet when the next-to-last one is claimed (unless one has already been earned through other means). +1 Science per foreign city following Arabia's Religion.	Mamluk	Madrasa
	Australian	John Curtin	Land Down Under +3 Housing in coastal cities. Building a Pasture triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. Campus, Commercial Hub, Holy Site, and Theater Square districts gain +1 to their yields in tiles with Charming Appeal, and +3 in tiles with Breathtaking Appeal.	Digger	Outback Station
	Aztec	Montezuma	Legend of the Five Suns Can spend Builder charges to complete 20% of a district's Production cost.	Eagle Warrior	Tlachtli
	Brazilian	Pedro II	Amazon Rainforest tiles provide a +1 adjacency bonus for Campus, Commercial Hub, Holy Site, and Theater Square districts, and provide +1 Appeal to adjacent tiles, instead of the usual -1.	Minas Geraes	Street Carnival
					Copacabana
	Canadian	Wilfrid Laurier	Four Faces of Peace Cannot declare Surprise Wars or war on City-States. Surprise Wars cannot be declared on Canada. For every 100 Tourism earned, gain 1 Diplomatic Favor. +100% Diplomatic Favor gained from successfully completing Emergencies or Scored Competitions.	Mountie	Ice Hockey Rink
	Chinese	Qin Shi Huang	Dynastic Cycle Eureka Eurekas and Inspiration Inspirations provide an extra 10% of the Science and Culture cost for researching technologies and civics.	Crouching Tiger	Great Wall
	Cree	Poundmaker	Nîhithaw Gains +1 Trade Route capacity and a free Trader with Pottery. Unclaimed tiles within three tiles of a Cree city come under Cree control when a Trader first moves into them.	Okihtcitaw	Mekewap
	Dutch	Wilhelmina	Grote Rivieren Rivers provide a +2 adjacency bonus for Campus, Theater Square, and Industrial Zone districts. Building a Harbor triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. Rivers provide a +2 adjacency bonus for Campus, Theater Square, and Industrial Zone districts. Building a Harbor triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. +50%   Production towards the Dam district and Flood Barrier building.	De Zeven Provinciën	Polder
	Egyptian	Cleopatra	Iteru +15% Production towards districts and wonders built next to a River. Floodplains don't prevent placement of districts and wonders. +15% Production towards districts and wonders built next to a River. Districts, improvements and units are immune to damage from floods.	Maryannu Chariot Archer	Sphinx
	English	Victoria	Vanilla and : British Museum Each Archaeological Museum can hold six Artifacts instead of three and can build two Archaeologists instead of one. Archaeological Museums are automatically themed when they have six Artifacts. : Workshop of the World Iron and Coal Mines accumulate 2 more resources per turn. +100% Production towards Military Engineers. Military Engineers receive +2 charges. Buildings that provide additional yields when Powered receive +4 of that yield. +20% production towards Industrial Zone buildings. Harbor buildings increase Strategic Resource Stockpiles by +10.	Sea Dog	Royal Navy Dockyard
		Eleanor of Aquitaine
	Ethiopian	Menelik II	Aksumite Legacy +1 Faith from improved resources. International Trade Routes grant +0.5 Faith for each resource in the origin city. Can purchase Archaeologists and Archaeological Museums with Faith.	Oromo Cavalry	Rock-Hewn Church
	French	Catherine de Medici	Grand Tour +20%  Production towards Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial Wonders. Double Tourism from all Wonders.	Garde Impériale	Château
		Eleanor of Aquitaine (French)
	Georgian	Tamar	Strength in Unity Dedications chosen at the beginning of a Golden Age or Heroic Age also grant their Normal Age bonuses towards improving Era Score, in addition to their regular bonuses. +50% Production towards walls.	Khevsur	Tsikhe
	German	Frederick Barbarossa	Free Imperial Cities Each city can build one more district than the population level would normally allow.	U-Boat	Hansa
	Gran Colombian	Simón Bolívar	Ejército Patriota +1 Movement for all units. Promoting a unit does not end that unit's turn.	Llanero	Hacienda
	Greek	Pericles	Plato's Republic Gain an additional Wildcard policy slot in all Governments.	Hoplite	Acropolis
		Gorgo
	Hungarian	Matthias Corvinus	Pearl of the Danube +50% Production for districts and buildings built across a river from a City Center.	Huszár	Thermal Bath
	Incan	Pachacuti	Mit'a Citizens may work Mountain tiles. Mountain tiles provide +2 Production, and +1 Food for each adjacent Terrace Farm.	Warak'aq	Terrace Farm
	Indian	Gandhi	Dharma Indian cities receive the Follower Beliefs of all religions with at least one follower in them, not just the majority religion. Indian cities receive the Follower Beliefs of all religions with at least one follower in them, not just the majority religion, and gain +1 Amenity Amenity for each religion with at least one follower in them. +2 Spread Religion charges for Missionaries. +100% Religious pressure from Indian Trade Routes.	Varu	Stepwell
		Chandragupta
	Indonesian	Gitarja	Great Nusantara Coast and Lake tiles provide a +0.5 adjacency bonus for Holy Site, Campus, Industrial Zone, and Theater Square districts. Entertainment Complexes built adjacent to a Coast or Lake tile provide +1 Amenity.	Jong	Kampung
	Japanese	Hojo Tokimune	Meiji Restoration Districts receive a +1 adjacency bonus for each adjacent district, instead of +0.5.	Samurai	Electronics Factory
	Khmer	Jayavarman VII	Grand Barays +3 Faith and +1 Amenity from Aqueducts. +2 Food for Farms adjacent to an Aqueduct.	Domrey	Prasat
	Kongolese	Mvemba a Nzinga	Nkisi Relics, Artifacts and Sculptures grant +2 Food, +2 Production and +4 Gold. The Palace has four extra slots for Great Works. Receive +50% Great Writer, Great Artist, Great Musician, and Great Merchant points from all sources.	Ngao Mbeba	Mbanza
	Korean	Seondeok	Three Kingdoms Farms receive +1 Food and Mines receive +1 Science if adjacent to a Seowon.	Hwacha	Seowon
	Macedonian	Alexander	Hellenistic Fusion Conquering a city grants a free Eureka Eureka for each Encampment and Campus district in the conquered city and a free Inspiration Inspiration for each Holy Site and Theater Square district.	Hypaspist	Basilikoi Paides
	Malian	Mansa Musa	Songs of the Jeli City Centers receive +1 Faith and +1 Food for every adjacent Desert and Desert Hills tile. Mines receive -1 Production and +4 Gold. May purchase Commercial Hub buildings with Faith. -30% Production towards buildings and units.	Mandekalu Cavalry	Suguba
	Māori	Kupe	Mana Starts with Sailing and Shipbuilding unlocked and the ability to enter Ocean tiles. +5 Combat Strength and +2 Movement for embarked units. Unimproved Woods and Rainforests grant +1 Production, increasing to +2 Production with Mercantilism and +3 Production with Conservation. +1 Food from Fishing Boats. Building a Fishing Boat triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. Resources cannot be harvested. Great Writers cannot be earned.	Toa	Marae
	Mapuche	Lautaro	Toqui All units trained in cities with an established Governor gain +25% combat experience. +10 Combat Strength when fighting civilizations that are in a Golden or Heroic Age.	Malón Raider	Chemamull
	Mayan	Lady Six Sky	Mayab Cities don't receive additional Housing from being adjacent to fresh water or coast. Cities gain +1 Amenity for each Luxury Resource adjacent to the City Center. Farms grant +1 Housing and +1 Gold.	Hul'che	Observatory
	Mongolian	Genghis Khan	Örtöö Sending a Trade Route immediately creates a Trading Post in the destination city, instead of when the Trade Route is completed. Gains an extra level of Diplomatic Visibility with civilizations that have a Mongolian Trading Post. +6 Combat Strength for all units for each level of Diplomatic Visibility Mongolia has over the other civilization, instead of the usual +3 .	Keshig	Ordu
	Norwegian	Harald Hardrada	Knarr Norwegian units gain the ability to enter Ocean tiles with Shipbuilding, instead of Cartography, and pay no additional Movement costs to embark or disembark. Naval melee units can heal in neutral territory.	Berserker	Stave Church
	Nubian	Amanitore	Ta-Seti +50% Production toward Ranged units. Ranged units gain +50% combat experience. +1 Production for Mines over strategic resources, and +2 Gold for Mines over bonus and luxury resources.	Pítati Archer	Nubian Pyramid
	Ottoman	Suleiman	Great Turkish Bombard +50% Production toward Siege units. Siege units gain +5 Combat Strength when attacking defensible districts. Conquering a city doesn't cause that city to lose Population. +1 Amenity and +4 Loyalty per turn for cities not founded by the Ottomans.	Barbary Corsair	Grand Bazaar
	Persian	Cyrus	Satrapies Gains +1 Trade Route capacity with Political Philosophy. Domestic Trade Routes provide +2 Gold and +1 Culture. Roads built inside Persian territory are one level more advanced than usual.	Immortal	Pairidaeza
	Phoenician	Dido	Mediterranean Colonies Starts with the Eureka Eureka for Writing. Coastal cities founded by Phoenicia and in the same continent as their Capital always have full Loyalty. Settlers receive +2 Movement and sight radius while embarked, and pay no Movement costs to embark or disembark.	Bireme	Cothon
	Polish	Jadwiga	Golden Liberty Building an Encampment or Fort triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. One Military policy slot in all governments is converted into a Wildcard policy slot.	Winged Hussar	Sukiennice
	Roman	Trajan	All Roads Lead to Rome Founded or conquered cities start with a Trading Post and, if within Trade Route range of the Capital, a road to it. Trade Routes generate +1 additional Gold from Roman Trading Posts they pass through.	Legion	Bath
	Russian	Peter	Mother Russia Founded cities start with eight additional tiles. Tundra tiles provide +1 Faith and +1 Production, in addition to their usual yields. Founded cities start with eight additional tiles. Tundra tiles provide +1 Faith and +1 Production, in addition to their usual yields. Districts, improvements and units are immune to damage from Blizzards. +100% damage from Blizzards inside Russian territory to civilizations at war with Russia.	Cossack	Lavra
	Scottish	Robert the Bruce	Scottish Enlightenment Happy cities gain +5% Science and +5% Production, and generate +1 Great Scientist points in their Campuses and +1 Great Engineer points in their Industrial Zones. Ecstatic cities double these bonuses.	Highlander	Golf Course
	Scythian	Tomyris	People of the Steppe Building a light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer grants a free second copy of that unit.	Saka Horse Archer	Kurgan
	Spanish	Philip II	Treasure Fleet May form Fleets and Armadas with Mercantilism, instead of Nationalism and Mobilization. Trade Routes between cities on different continents gain +1 Food and +1 Production for domestic Trade Routes, and +6 Gold for international Trade Routes. May form Fleets and Armadas with Mercantilism, instead of Nationalism and Mobilization. Trade Routes between cities on different continents gain +1 Food and +1 Production for domestic Trade Routes, and +6 Gold for international Trade Routes. +2 Loyalty per turn for cities outside of Spain's home continent if they have a Mission adjacent to the City Center.	Conquistador	Mission
	Sumerian	Gilgamesh	Epic Quest Capturing a Barbarian Outpost also grants a Tribal Village reward. Levying city-state units costs 50% less Gold.	War-Cart	Ziggurat
	Swedish	Kristina	Nobel Prize Gains 50 Diplomatic Favor whenever a Great Person is earned. +1 Great Engineer points from Factories and +1 Great Scientist points from Universities. Sweden's presence in the game adds three unique World Congress competitions in the Industrial Era.	Carolean	Open-Air Museum
	Zulu	Shaka	Isibongo Capturing a city will upgrade the conquering unit into a Corps or Army, if the necessary civics are unlocked. +3 Loyalty per turn to cities with a garrisoned unit, increasing to +5 if the garrisoned unit is a Corps or Army.	Impi	Ikanda

Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.

Videos

CIVILIZATION VI - How To Choose a Civilization

See also

• Civilizations: A list of civilizations in all Civilization games.