Population Types

(last updated: 2.52.04)

Provincial population can be seen in the population province modifier. The world's population has been divided into two main categories: those living in the countryside and those living in urban centers. There is also the upper class, which denotes the most noble and wealthy part of the population living in provinces.

Unlike vanilla, development in M&T is not the source of income and manpower. Instead, population provides tax income, production income, manpower and sailors. Development is merely a display, representing the economic value produced in a province. Two provinces with the same total development will produce roughly the same amount of money, though whether this ends up in the hands of the local population, the estate or the country depends on other factors, like autonomy.

## Guiding Principles

The interactions between pop types and various other mechanics can be nuanced and complex, however, there are several principles that will allow you to approximate rather well.

* Rural Pops are more resistant to short term change than Urban. This means fewer die in disasters, less rural wealth is looted in war, it is harder to rural population than urban etc. Imagine a see-saw going up and down, Rural is basically a thick syrup that slowly shifts while Urban is water that sloshes one way then the other rapidly.
* Urban Pops are generally more valuable than Rural Pops. They produce more money, produce more goods, and provide greater naval force limit etc.
* Population has diminishing returns at very high values, with more than 500k rural/urban population in a province they will produce less money, goods and manpower per population.

## Rural Population

[[File:Rural\_pop.png
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Most citizens in any nation will live out in the countryside, producing food or rural goods. These are the backbone of your society, taking longer to grow and better resisting trauma. While not generating as much Wealth or utility as Urban Populations, they supply your cities and towns with vital food.

A province gains per 10,000 Rural Population:

## Urban Population

[[File:Urban\_pop.png
38px
Those living in urban centers hold disproportionate amounts of wealth and power, allowing a small, highly urbanized nation like Tuscany to pack a punch. It takes a large amount of wealth to build up a city to grandeur however, and once built up cities are more susceptible to trauma like looting or plague. To sustain themselves they rely on excess food from the province itself, the region and imports from continental markets.

To grow a city, a combination of increasing its Urban Gravity and Food supply is necessary. The easiest way to increase Urban Gravity is through buildings, particularly urban infrastructure. Additionally, the local urban wealth produced in the region will go towards constructing buildings independently from the player. Food supply is increased either by improving local and regional farming efficiency, importing more food from the continental market, or reducing regional/continental food consumption either by rural industry or other cities.

A province gains per 10,000 Urban Population:

## Upper Class Population

[[File:Upper\_pop.png
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The most powerful and influential 5% of society. The upper class from nation to nation are not made equal, instead their distribution, wealth and influence are determined by various factors in a country. A flourishing merchant republic will have their elite pops focused largely in the capital with some out in major trade posts, whereas a large and rural country like Lithuania will have elites dotted across the countryside. In later periods, the upper class of a global empire will often invest in profitable colonial or joint stock ventures like sugar plantations or the slave trade, helping to get these resource intensive businesses started and later sending wealth back to the homeland.

### Education

How well educated your upper class is depends on the number and quality of universities in your realm.

A province gains per 10,000 Upper Class Population: