How To Increase GDP In Victoria 3
Learning how to increase GDP in Victoria 3 is a vital aspect of growing your nation, as it directly affects your prestige and overall standing amongst the other nations of the world, along with your potential for minting new currency. Controlling and managing your economy is one of the most important parts of playing Victoria 3, and many of the decisions you make will directly contribute toward your overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). So if you want to know how to increase your GDP in Victoria 3, and gain all the benefits that come with it, we've got you covered.
Why not check out our guides on how to increase the main Capacities:
- How to increase Bureaucracy in Victoria 3
- How to increase Authority in Victoria 3
- How to increase Influence in Victoria 3
How To Increase GDP In Victoria 3
Click to enlargeGDP is a monetary measure of the market value of all your produced goods and their market prices, which can be compared against other nations to see who has the more powerful economy. It's one of the most important indicators of your nation's success in Victoria 3, and it directly affects your prestige, with a larger GDP earning you more prestige. It also affects minting - which is a form of income generated through creating new money - as the larger your GDP, the more new money that can be minted without compromising the economy.
The equation for calculating your GDP in Victoria 3 is fairly simple. Essentially, the game takes the total amount of a good produced, and multiplies it by the market price of that good. It performs this calculation for all the goods produced in your nation, and then totals them together to work out your GDP.
The key to increasing your GDP in Victoria 3 is producing more goods. The idea behind this is simple, but in practice, it can be difficult and is dependent on multiple factors. Firstly, you should take a look at your nation's natural resources and see which goods have the best throughput. Throughput is a measure of how effectively your workforce can turn input goods into output goods.
Click to enlargeYou can see your nation's natural resources by clicking a state in your nation, and scrolling down in the Overview window to see its state traits. For instance, in the above screenshot, the state of Gotaland has the Scandinavian Forests trait, which provides a +20% modifier to logging industry throughput. This means any logging building that's built in this state will be more effective at creating wood.
Click to enlargeStarting with the basics of your own goods economy can also be massive for your GDP. Making sure your population is well-fed with goods like grain or meat, making they sure have basic clothing, and ensuring you have wood and tools to continue to build more buildings, is essential throughout the game. If you don't produce enough of these goods, your people and your nation will suffer, so even if you intend to become the biggest producer of silk down the line, you won't be able to get there without the basics.
Click to enlargeAnother good way to move toward increasing your GDP, is by exploiting gaps in the goods market. By clicking the Market button on the left of the screen, you can see a full breakdown of all the goods produced in your market, including the sell orders, buy orders, the total balance of the good, and the market price. Clicking another nation when this menu is up will also let you take a look at their market and all the finer details. If you can find a good in their market that's got a low balance, producing more of it in your market can cause their AI to establish import trade routes with you, or you could export the good yourself. Along with making you money through tariffs, this will contribute toward your GDP.
Click to enlargeYou can also exploit this demand by being the first to produce a specific good. If you have a technological advantage and are the first to research Atmospheric Engines, for example, you can set up a motor industry and become the primary producer of engines. Once other nations start to create a demand for engines, you will be there to fill that niche, as you have a head start in production of the necessary good.
There's a lot of micromanaging you can do when growing your economy in Victoria 3, so experimenting with your production industries can be an important way of learning how to increase your GDP. There's no one way of increasing GDP, but with a combination of the tips above, and learning about the economy you inherit when starting a game, you should be raising your prestige in no time.
That's all for our breakdown of how to increase GDP in Victoria 3, and now you should have an idea of the best ways to make your GDP line go up.
You may also want to know how to colonise in Victoria 3, as this will open up more opportunities to increase your GDP.
