Overview: Citizen Growth and Satisfaction
To prevent population growth in Ikariam from coming to a standstill, you must continuously expand your town hall. Growth depends directly on the satisfaction of your citizens.
Three factors determine satisfaction and thus growth: citizen satisfaction through museums, the tavern expansion level, and wine distribution in the tavern.
The more people living in your city, the more revenue you can generate. Ensure that your citizens are happy or at least satisfied – otherwise they will leave your settlement along with the workers.
Population Groups
Citizens
Citizens are that part of the population not involved in raw material procurement. They earn their living in the city, pay taxes, and thereby form your main source of gold income.
Workers
The workers in your city are responsible for producing the required raw materials. In the island view, you set the number of your workers in the forest, quarry, vineyard, crystal mine, or sulphur mine. Make sure you only hire as many workers as you have available – otherwise your net gold will go into the negative.
Scholars
Scholars acquire research points. The more scholars you assign, the less net gold income you receive, but the more research points you gain.
Priests
To be able to hire priests, you must first build a temple. They are needed to trigger the various wonders of the islands. A level 32 temple can hold up to 1092 priests.
The Role of the Tavern
Wine distribution in the tavern increases a city's satisfaction and is thus a prerequisite for cities to grow at all. Additionally, there is a satisfaction bonus for each tavern level.
With each higher level, the maximum wine distribution increases and thus the possible satisfaction of your city.
Tavern Distribution per Level (Selection)
| Level | Max. Wine | Max. Wine (Winery Level 32) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 24 | 16 |
| 10 | 60 | 41 |
| 15 | 110 | 75 |
| 20 | 180 | 122 |
| 25 | 277 | 188 |
| 30 | 408 | 277 |
| 32 | 472 | 321 |
| 40 | 818 | 556 |
| 47 | 1,280 | 870 |
When Does Growth Fall to Zero?
From the line in the town hall (e.g. "Growth: 0.95 per hour"), you cannot directly read when growth is no longer possible. The remaining time can be calculated using the following approximation formula:
- f(x) = 123.94 · (x0.1609)
- x1 = current citizen satisfaction
- x2 = x1 minus (maximum number of citizens minus current number of citizens)
- f(x1) − f(x2) = time until growth falls to zero
The formula is truly precise only for x > 50.
FAQ
What does population growth depend on?
On the satisfaction bonus from museums, on the tavern expansion level, and on wine distribution in the tavern.
What happens if my citizens are dissatisfied?
If citizens are not at least satisfied, they will leave your settlement along with the workers.
Why is the tavern so important?
Wine distribution increases satisfaction and is a prerequisite for cities to grow at all. Additionally, each level provides a satisfaction bonus.