Overpopulation

Welcome to the Overpopulation Wiki page! If you're here, you are already deep into the mechanics of the game.

Overpopulation occurs when your Total Population exceeds your Maximum Population. Population information can be viewed in your Affairs of the State page under:

• "Total" for current total population and
• "Max Population" for the maximum amount of population your province can hold.

Overpopulation is a mechanic often used in War. During war, heavily overpopulating a province by taking away a lot of its land can trigger effects that will limit a province's effectiveness. Below are some of the effects and triggers of Overpopulation:

Effects and Triggers for Overpopulation

Note that the below effects stack:

Level 1: Population Exceeds Max Population (a.k.a Peasant Desertion)

When your current total population is larger than your max population, your peasants will leave and no new peasants will be born.

• Peasants leave at a rate of 10% of total peasants or the amount you are overpopulated by, whichever of the two is lower.
• The minimum number of peasants that will leave is 10.

Level 2: Population exceeds Max Population by 15% (a.k.a. Military Desertion)

When your current total population is larger than you max population by 15%, everything in Level 1 will occur and in addition, your army will refuse to attack and your troops, including thieves, will begin to desert. Troops both at home and out on an attack are affected by desertion.

• Desertions max at ~5.8% of total military population per tick (Desertions do not start at 5.8%. They scale up to ~5.8% when extremely overpopulated. You have to be super overpopulated to hit the max ~5.8%).
• Desertions due to overpopulation will remove soldiers first, up to a maximum of 100% of the total desertions (as of Age 88).
• All troops except soldiers are prone to desertions when overpopulated and leave at approximately the same rate, regardless of whether they are at home or out on an attack. (i.e. same % of offensive specs, defensive specs, and elites will desert).
• Deserting troops are calculated one military pool at a time (offensive specs, defensive specs, elites). When you have soldiers, soldiers will replace as much of the overpopulation for a military as possible, one pool at a time, so it is possible for the deserting troop % of offensive specs, defensive specs, and elites to not be the equivalent.
• Deserting troops will fill dungeons first, if any space is available, before being completely lost.

Level 3: Population exceeds Max Population by 30% (a.k.a. Rioting)

When your current total population is larger than you max population by 30%, everything in Level 1 & 2 will occur and in addition, your peasants will riot.

• Your income is reduced by 50%.

Level 4: Population exceeds Max Population by 40% (a.k.a. Thieves on Strike)

When your current total population is larger than you max population by 40%, everything in Level 1, 2, & 3 will occur and in addition, your thieves will refuse to work.

• Cannot perform any Thievery Operations.

Level 5: Military Population Exceeds Max Population (a.k.a Military on Strike)

When your current military population is larger than you max population, everything in Level 1, 2, 3, & 4 will occur and in addition, your army will refuse to attack.

• Cannot use your army to attack.