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There are a total of 43 civilizations available in Civilization V, including DLCs and the expansions. It is also the first incarnation of the series where the leaders speak their native languages.

The civilizations in Civilization V

Civilization	Icon	Leader	Special ability	Unique building (if any)	Unique unit(s)
American		Washington	Manifest Destiny	(-)	B17, Minuteman
Arabian		Harun al-Rashid	Trade Caravans	Bazaar	Camel archer
Assyrian		Ashurbanipal	Treasures of Nineveh	Royal library	Siege tower
Austrian		Maria Theresa	Diplomatic Marriage	Coffee house	Hussar
Aztec		Montezuma	Sacrificial Captives	Floating gardens	Jaguar
Brazilian		Pedro	Carnival	Wood camp (Improvement)	Pracinhas
Babylonian†		Nebuchadnezzar II	Ingenuity	Walls of Babylon	Bowman
Byzantine		Theodora	Patriarchate of Constantinople	(-)	Cataphract, Dromon
Carthaginian		Dido	Phoenician Heritage	(-)	African forest elephant, Quinquereme
Celtic		Boudica	Druidic Lore	Ceilidh hall	Pictish warrior
Chinese		Wu Zetian	Art of War	Paper maker	Cho-ko-nu
Danish†		Harald Bluetooth	Viking Fury	(-)	Beserker, Norwegian ski infantry
Dutch		William	East India Company	Polder (Improvement)	Sea beggar
Egyptian		Ramesses II	Monument Builders	Burial tomb	War chariot
English		Elizabeth	Sun Never Sets	(-)	Longbowman, Ship of the line
Ethiopian		Haile Selassie	Spirit of Adwa	Stele	Mehal sefari
French		Napoleon	Ancient Regime; City of Light (BNW)	Chateau (Improvement; only in BNW)	Foreign legion (Not in BNW), Musketeer
German		Bismarck	Furor Teutonicus	(-)	Landsknecht, Panzer
Greek		Alexander	Hellenic League	(-)	Companion cavalry, Hoplite
Hunnic		Attilla	Scourge of God	(-)	Horse archer, Battering ram
Incan†		Pachacuti	Great Andean Road	Terrace farm (Improvement)	Slinger
Indian		Gandhi	Population Growth	Mughal fort	War elephant
Indonesian		Gajah Mada	Spice Islanders	Candi	Kris swordsman
Iroquois		Hiawatha	The Great Warpath	Longhouse	Mohawk warrior
Japanese		Oda Nobunaga	Bushido	(-)	Samurai, Zero
Korean†		Sejong	Scholars of the Jade Hall	(-)	Hwacha, Turtle ship
Mayan		Pacal	Long Count	Pyramid	Atlatlist
Mongolian†		Genghis Khan	Mongol Terror	(-)	Keshik, Khan
Moroccan		Ahmad al-Mansur	Gateway to Africa	Kasbah (Improvement)	Berber cavalry
Ottoman		Suleiman	Barbary Corsairs	(-)	Janissary, Sipahi
Persian		Darius	Achaemenid Legacy	Satrap's court	Immortal
Polish		Casimir	Solidarity	Ducal stable	Winged hussar
Polynesian†		Kamehameha	Wayfinding	Moai (Improvement)	Maori warrior
Portuguese		Maria	Mare Clausum	Feitoria (Improvement)	Nau
Roman		Augustus Caesar	The Glory of Rome	(-)	Ballista, Legion
Russian		Catherine	Siberian Riches	Krepost	Cossack
Siamese		Ramkhamhaeng	Father Governs Children	Wat	Naresuan's elephant
Songhai		Askia	River Warlord	Mud pyramid mosque	Mandekalu cavalry
Spanish†		Isabella	Seven Cities of Gold	(-)	Tercio, Conquistador
Swedish		Gustavus Adolphus	Nobel Prize	(-)	Hakkapeliitta, Caroleans
Zulu		Shaka	Iklwa	Ikanda	Impi

Civilization V Leaders(07:02)
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• † The Babylonians came as a bonus with a pre-order of the Deluxe Edition through a number of Digital Distribution platforms e.g. Steam / Direct 2 Drive. It was later made available as DLC. Included in Game of the Year Edition.
• † The Mongolians were made available as free DLC on 25th October, 2010 and is added automatically through Steam update. Included in Game of the Year Edition.
• † The Spanish and the Incas were made available as DLC on 16th December, 2010. Included in Game of the Year Edition. The Spanish were later made available in Gods and Kings.
• † The Polynesians were made available as DLC on 3rd March, 2011. Included in Game of the Year Edition.
• † The Danish were made available as DLC on 3rd May, 2011. Included in Game of the Year Edition.
• † The Koreans were made available as DLC on August 11, 2011.

Valid only in the Gods and Kings expansion pack. :

Nine new civilizations were added with the Gods and Kings expansion pack on June 19, 2012: Mayan, Byzantine, Celtic, Carthaginian, Hun, Austrian, Ethiopian, Dutch and Sweden. In addition, the previously released Spanish civilization was included again.

Valid only in the Brave New World expansion pack.:

Nine new civilizations are to be added in the Brave New World expansion pack, including the Polish, Brazilian, Assyrian, Portuguese, Zulu, Indonesian and Moroccan civilizations.