Civ 7: How To Increase Population Growth

In Civilization 7, Growth is important because it creates Population in your settlements, allowing you to work new Rural tiles or add Specialists to existing Districts and Quarters to boost other Yields. Adding a lot of Food will let you grow Cities quickly, allow you to gather more Resources, accumulate more yields, and generally expand your empire at a much faster rate.

This guide explains how to increase the important yield of Food in Civ 7 to increase Growth, including tips for the best Growth Leaders/Civs to pick, all Food Resources and Buildings, and other tips to get more Food and grow settlements faster in Civ 7.

Pick One Of The Best Leaders For Growth In Civ 7…

In Civ 7, Growth is something that can be drastically improved before you even get into the game. By making the right choice of Leader, Growth can be boosted before you settle your first City.

Certain Leader Abilities outright increase Growth in all Cities, like Confucius, while others will boost Food on certain types of tiles, like Pachacuti.

Growth abilities are the most common amongst all Civ 7 Leaders, but these three are especially good at generating Growth throughout all Ages:

• Confucius: Grants a flat 25% bonus to City Growth, as well as +2 Science on all Specialists
• Pachacuti: +1 Food adjacency bonus for tiles next to Mountains, and Specialists who are slotted on tiles next to Mountains do not consume Happiness
• Ashoka, World Renouncer: +1 Food in Cities for every 5 extra Happiness they produce, plus 10% extra Food across the empire in a Celebration

…And Pair Them With A Growth-Oriented Civ

In each Age, players will be asked to change their Civilization, leaving the old world behind and embracing a new set of unique Civ abilities. Throughout all Ages, some Civs are way better at generating Food, and thereby increasing Growth and Population, than others thanks to these unique abilities.

After choosing a Leader, pair them with one of these best Growth Civs to vastly boost your ability to gain Population in Civ 7 and expand your settlements faster:

• Han: Antiquity Age Civ, gains an extra Population in every City and Town for their first Growth event
• Inca: Exploration Age Civ, gains the Terrace Farm unique building for 6 Food, and the Turakuna Policy which grants +15% Food in all settlements close to a Mountain
• Qing: Modern Age Civ, can get a Policy that grants +25% Growth in all Towns with at least one Resource assigned

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Prioritize Food Yields & Food Resources

When you grow a settlement, the possible yields from all tiles (and added yields to surrounding tiles) you can place the new Population onto will be displayed. Almost every tile in Civ 7 will produce Food except for some Natural Wonders and Mountains, but some produce significantly more than others – especially if you have certain Warehouse buildings to boost their yields.

Pay attention to the green Food symbol above each tile. Tiles that have more than 4x Food will instead be presented as a single large green Food icon with a number inside. For example, a tile with a Food icon that has the number “6” inside of it will generate 6 Food per turn if worked.

There are also a number of great Resources to get more Food in each Age. In the Antiquity and Exploration Age, you will be able to generate Food by slotting the Cotton, Dates, or Fish Resource into a settlement. In the Modern Age, you must have Spices, Sugar, Wine, or the Truffles Factory Resource to boost Food.

• In the Antiquity Age, try to pick up Cotton (2x Food), Dates (2x Food), and Fish (3x Food)
• In the Exploration Age, Cotton and Dates are worth 1x more Food each, and Fish is worth 5x Food
• In the Modern Age, look for Truffles (Factory Resource, 6x food with Rail Station, 3x food without), Spices (4x Food), Sugar (6x Food), and Wine (4x Food)

Focus Growth Buildings To Boost Food Yields

The most common types of buildings in Civ 7 are Warehouse and Food Yield buildings. You should be able to build at least one Food building at the start of every Age, and each Age lets you build up to three different types of Food buildings, depending on how far you get in the Civic Tree and and Tecgh trees.

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Some Growth buildings in Civ 7 have the “Ageless” tag. This tag means it will not become redundant, and cannot be replaced with Overbuilding, in later Ages. These buildings grant permanent bonuses throughout every Age, and the earlier you get them, the faster you will be able to grow faster.

• Ageless Food Buildings and Warehouse Buildings
  • Granary grants +1 Food and an extra +1 Food on Plantations, Farms, and Pastures
  • Fishing Quay grants +1 Food and an extra +1 Food on Fishing Boats
• Antiquity Age
  • Gristmill grants +4 Food and +1 extra Food on Plantations, Farms, and Pastures
  • Garden grants +3 Food with several adjacency bonuses
  • Bath will grant +4 Food with several adjacencies
• Exploration Age
  • Hospital grants +4 Food and several Food adjacencies as well as 15% Growth Rate
  • Inn grants +3 Food and several adjacencies
  • Wharf grants a big +4 Food bonus and several water adjacencies
• Modern Age
  • Cannery grants +5 Food, several adjacencies, and a bonus 10% Growth Rate
  • Grocer simply grants a base +4 Food
  • Tenement grants +6 Food, Coastal/Navigable River adjacencies and +1 Happiness

Research Techs That Unlock Food Bonuses

In every Age, there are certain Techs that will increase the Food Yields for other buildings across the settlement. For example, at the beginning of Antiquity, each of the first three Techs (Animal Husbandry, Sailing, Pottery) will increase the Food Yields of specific types of worked tiles.

When researching Tech or Civics, hover over each option and look for the golden + symbol, which indicates bonuses that will take effect immediately upon completion of that Tech or Civic. Some of these grant flat Food bonuses to certain types of tiles and buildings, and if you’re struggling for Food, it can be worth rushing these over other options first.

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Settle New Towns – Then Swap Town Focus

One of the best ways to get more Food Civ 7 players can use is to settle many new Towns. At 7 Population, you will get the option to swap the Town Focus. If you swap to a Farming Town or Fishing Town, all of the Food will be sent to your nearby Cities instead of being used to grow that Town.

It’s not a bad idea to let your town get a little bit of extra population (by leaving it as a Growing City) so it can eventually generate more Food with more tiles and resources. As long as the new settlement isn’t too far from your Cities, these Town Focus settings will vastly increase Growth in your capital.

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