Province Capacity

Province Capacity refers to the number of provinces that an individual nation may govern without becoming destabilized. It is based on the government type, and can be increased by certain buildings, ideas, research, and various other ways. There is also a decision that allows you to spend Ruler Capacity in exchange for more province capacity.

If a nation were to have more provinces than the capacity allows, a modifier will appear letting the player know. If the number of provinces exceeds the province capacity by five, events will begin happening that causes revolts in various provinces until enough capacity is gained to govern those provinces.

Province capacity is updated every six months, on January and July, so changes will not be noticed right away.

Finding Province Capacity
A player is able to find what capacity they have by going to the decisions window and holding the mouse over the question mark in the Display National Statistics decision. The information related to province capacity is updated every six months, on January and July, so it may not be accurate at all times.




 * Owned Provinces represents the number of provinces owned at the time the capacity was updated.
 * Province Capacity Limit represents the maximum province capacity the nation has. If the number of Owned Provinces exceeds that by five or more, revolts start appearing all over the nation until capacity is brought back under control.
 * Province Capacity We Can Buy represents the amount of province capacity that can be bought using Ruler Capacity.

Increasing Province Capacity
Province capacity is based primarily on the type of government. Thus one of the main ways of increasing province capacity is to upgrade to a government with higher province capacity.


 * If a government is not listed, it will use the base province capacity.
 * Nations that declare an empire will always have the maximum province capacity even if their actual government is supposed to have lower capacity.
 * If a nation meets more than one criteria, the one with the highest province capacity will be used. For example, the Steppe Khanate has a capacity of 25. However the Steppe Khanate is also a Nomad government, which has a capacity of 50. So a nation that is a Steppe Khanate will have a capacity of 50.

1''Not a government type. Events and decisions can cause various governments to be considered Empires and use this province capacity. 2''Not a government type. Country modifier given by the Proclaim the Vijayanagara Empire decision.'' 3''Not a government type. The Manchu decision Qing Dynasty will cause Manchu to have the capacity of the Qing Dynasty.

Some events and decisions may cause a nation to be seen as an empire when it comes to province capacity, even if their government would otherwise not have the capacity of an empire. For example, the decision Proclaim the Vijayanagara Empire gives the country modifier Vijyangari Empire, which has a capacity of 30. It also changes the government to Indian Empire with a capacity of 50. But it also causes the nation to be treated as an empire, so the nation will end up with 2000 province capacity.

If a nation that is considered an empire were to change government, whether by decision or event, generally the government will stop being treated as an empire. This usually happens if the new government does not "seem" like it would be an empire (e.g. Feudal Monarchy). However if this were to happen, the decision to Imperial Government will generally become available if all the requirements are met.

Some nations are automatically treated as empires, regardless of government type, based on date the game is started.


 * Osman starting in 1455.
 * Sikh Empire starting in April 12, 1801.
 * Russia starting in 1462.
 * Revolutionary France starting in May 10, 1774.
 * Pala in the Glory of Byzantium scenario.
 * Persia.
 * Ming until June 20, 1645.
 * Mali.
 * Khmer starting in 1310.
 * Byzantium.

Some nations also begin with a capacity bonus to manage their starting lands or the future lands they may gain, or they may start with penalties to capacity to limit their expansion or cause a collapse.


 * Lithuania has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * Brittany has a bonus of 1 capacity.
 * Yuan has a bonus of 200 capacity.
 * Sweden has a bonus of 12 capacity.
 * Ilkhanate has a penalty of 40 capacity.
 * Golden Horde has a bonus of 40 capacity.
 * Prussia has a bonus of 30 capacity when formed.
 * Spain has a bonus of 25 capacity when formed.
 * Delhi has a bonus of 20 capacity.
 * Slavonia has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * Teutonic Order has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * Poland has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * Gyor has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * Nyitra has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * France has a bonus of 20 capacity.
 * Aba has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * Rus has a bonus of 20 capacity when formed.
 * Al-Andalus has a bonus of 30 capacity when formed.
 * Bohemia has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * England has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * Scotland has a bonus of 20 capacity.
 * Hungary has a bonus of 10 capacity.
 * Novgorod has a bonus of 20 capacity.
 * Austria has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * Bavaria has a bonus of 15 capacity.
 * Commonwealth has a bonus of 30 capacity when formed.

A decision is available to most nations to increase their province capacity at the cost of ruler capacity. The number of provinces that can be bought appears in the Display National Statistics decision, and is mainly based on the type of government.

Some research and idea groups can also increase the province capacity.


 * Research: Imperial Adiministration I increases capacity by 5.
 * Research: Imperial Adiministration II increases capacity by 5 more.
 * Research: Imperial Adiministration III increases capacity by 5 more.
 * Research: Imperial Adiministration IV increases capacity by 5 more.
 * Research: Imperial Adiministration V increases capacity by 5 more.
 * Expansion Ideas 1 increases capacity by 5.
 * Expansion Ideas 3 increases capacity by an additional 5.
 * Expansion Ideas 5 increases capacity by an additional 5.
 * Full Expansion Ideas increases capacity by an additional 5.
 * Centralization Ideas 1 increases capacity by 3.
 * Centralization Ideas 3 increases capacity by an additional 3.
 * Centralization 5 increases capacity by an additional 3.
 * Full Centralization Ideas increases capacity by an additional 3.

The nation's ruler also has an effect on province capacity based on their skill levels. As rulers change over time, and their skills vary, it is important to take into account their effect on capacity. Or the nation may find itself with very low capacity when a new ruler takes over.


 * Administrative Skill 4 ruler increases capacity by 1.
 * Administrative Skill 5 ruler increases capacity by 2.
 * Administrative Skill 6 ruler increases capacity by 4.

There are various province-related features that can also increase province capacity. Every province provides these bonuses, so long as the features exist on those provinces. These bonuses include, but are not limited to, whether the province is a core, its religion, what buildings are built on the province, the strength of the province's government, etc.


 * Each Granary, Sheriff's Office, Town Hall, and Courthouse will increase capacity by 0.10.
 * Each Tax Assessor will increase capacity by 0.20.
 * Provinces with a core increase capacity by 0.05.
 * Provinces with the owner's religion increase capacity by 0.05.
 * Provinces with the owner's culture increase capacity by 0.05.
 * Provinces with Initial Local Administration increase capacity by 0.10.
 * Provinces with Moderate Local Administration increase capacity by 0.20.
 * Provinces with Good Local Administration increase capacity by 0.30.
 * Provinces with Full Local Administration increase capacity by 0.50.