Education
Every province has an Education level from 0% to 100% that rises month by month through Education Gain. It speeds a country's research, shapes where parties find their voters, and slows population growth as societies modernize.
Education measures how schooled a province's people are, from 0% to 100%. It represents attainment, how far people have gone through school, rather than basic literacy, so even the most advanced countries of 1946 sit well below the top of the scale. A country's Education is the population-weighted average of the provinces it owns.
Education appears in both the province and country views. Clicking the country figure opens its monthly history and a list of provinces ordered by education, then by population. The Education map mode shades the world by it.
How education rises
Education changes once a month by the province's Education Gain. The gain is the sum of:
- national Education Gain from the country's laws, research and focuses;
- local gain from province modifiers held by the province or its region;
- the province's archetype, where it has one.
The total is applied in percentage points and the result kept within 0% to 100%, so years of steady investment accumulate.
The Education System law
The main lever is the Education System law, one of the social Policies. Each step up costs more in research and social spending but adds more Education Gain and research speed:
| Option | Requires | Education Gain | Research speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Education | – | +0.2%/month | +3% (but −2% Stability) |
| Basic Schooling | – | +0.5%/month | +1% |
| Mass Education | Universal Primary Education research | +1%/month | +3% |
| Universal Secondary | Universal Secondary Education research | +1.5%/month | +5% |
| Universal Tertiary | Mass Higher Education research | +2%/month | +8% |
The two upper tiers also add economic growth. Because the costs are a share of GDP, a broader system is a lasting commitment in the budget.
Research
The Education & Research tree under Society & Institutions holds the projects that unlock those laws. Universal Primary Education, Universal Secondary Education and Mass Higher Education each add a little Education Gain of their own as well as research speed. See Technology Trees.
What education does
- Research speed. A country's Education adds to its research speed: each point above 50% speeds research, and each point below slows it, up to a quarter faster or slower at the extremes. See Research Centers.
- Politics. A province's Education shapes its party affinities. Parties draw differently on better-educated provinces than on the countryside, which is part of what separates city politics from rural politics. See Factions and Elections.
- Population growth. Education is one of the five inputs of the demographic model. Higher attainment lowers fertility, and it amplifies the effect of economic mood and gender equality on birth rates. See Demographics.
- Rankings and missions. Countries are ranked by education, which National Agendas can target, and foreign campus organizing through Diplomatic Missions needs a region with at least 30% education.
Trade-offs
Education is one of the clearest long-term investments in the game. It costs money every month and pays back slowly, through faster research and higher growth, while gradually bringing down the birth rate. A country racing for scientific prestige will want it early; one that needs every future conscript may hesitate.
Pages that link here
Map Modes · Migration · Provincial Economy · Regions · Research Centers · Technology Trees · The Map