Civilization V Resources Guide

This guide lists the resources along with the bonuses they provide. Resources can only be accessed with the listed worker improvements. Make sure to send your workers to those resources as soon as possible. Most improvements will require a certain technology to be researched.

Food Resources
Food resources increase  food output from the hex. You cannot trade food resources to different civilizations.

Bananas
Food: +1
Base Hex: Jungles
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Cattle
Food: +1
Base Hex: Grasslands
Improvement Needed: Pasture

Deer
Food: +1
Base Hex: Forests, Tundra or Hills
Improvement Needed: Camp

Fish
Food: +2
Base Hex: Coast
Improvement Needed: Fishing Boats

Sheep
Food: +1
Base Hex: Grasslands Plains, Deserts or Hills
Improvement Needed: Pasture

Wheat
Food: +1
Production: 0
Gold: 0
Base Hex: Flood Plains or Plains
Improvement Needed: Farm

Luxury Resources
Luxury resources raise happiness and give a gold bonus to nearby cities. Note that each different type of resource provides one happiness no matter how many hexes with that same resource you have (the happiness doesn't stack). Therefore, if you have more then one of the same resource, you should trade it to other civilizations for resources which you do not possess.

Certain cities will occasionally ask for a specific resource, and if you manage to acquire it, you will trigger a "We love the king" day for that city for 20 turns, which increases city growth rate by 25%.
 
Cotton
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Grasslands, Plains, or Desert
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Dyes
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Jungle or Forest
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Furs
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Forest or Tundra
Improvement Needed: Camp

Gems
Gold: +3
Base Hex: Jungle, Grasslands, Plains, Desert, Tundra, or Hills
Improvement Needed: Mine

Gold
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Grasslands, Plains, Desert, or Hills
Improvement Needed: Mine

Incense
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Desert or Plains
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Ivory
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Plains
Improvement Needed: Camp

Marble
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Grasslands, Plains, Desert, Tundra, or Hills
Improvement Needed: Quarry

Pearls
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Coast
Improvement Needed: Fishing Boats

Silk
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Forest
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Silver
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Tundra, Desert, or Hills
Improvement Needed: Mine

Spices
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Jungle
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Sugar
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Flood Plains or Marsh
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Whales
Food: +1
Gold: +1
Base Hex: Coast
Improvement Needed: Fishing Boats

Wine
Gold: +2
Base Hex: Grassland or Plains
Improvement Needed: Plantation

Strategic Resources
Strategic resources aren't visible when you start the game. They are revealed only once you have researched a particular technology. For example you won't see Coal until you have researched Scientific Theory, Aluminum will be revealed only once you have discovered electricity, and you will need to learn biology to reveal the oil.

As with any other resources, you need the appropriate improvements to access them. Once you access a strategic resource, it will let you build a limited number of buildings or units from that resource. For example, with one Iron resource you can build one swordsman unit. If it dies, you can build another one. Without the iron resource, you cannot build that unit at all. Check on top of the main screen to see how many units you have available of each strategic resource.

Strategic resources can be traded with other civilizations.

Aluminum
Production: +1
Base Hex: Plains, Desert, Tundra, or Hills
Technology Required: Electricity
Improvement Needed : Mine
Units: Helicopter Gunship, Rocket Artillery, Stealth Bomber, Mobile SAM,
Modern Armor,  Nuclear Submarine, Jet Fighter, Missile Cruiser
Buildings: Hydro Plant, Spaceship Factory

Coal
Production: +1
Base Hex: Grasslands, Plains, or Hills
Technology Required: Scientific Theory
Improvement Needed: Mine
Units: Ironclad
Buildings: Factory

Horses
Production: +1
Base Hex: Grassland, Plains, or Tundra
Technology Required: Animal Husbandry
Improvement Needed: Pasture
Units: Chariot Archer, Cavalry,Cossack, Lancer, Knight,
Mandekalu Cavalry, Companion Cavalry, Horseman, Sipahi, Camel Archer
Buildings: Stable, Circus

Iron
Production: +1
Base Hex: Grassland, Plains, Desert, Tundra, Snow or Hills
Technology Required: Iron Working
Improvement Needed: Mine
Units: Ballista, Catapult, Ship of the Line, Anti-Aircraft Gun,
Mohawk Warrior, Swordsman, Longswordsman, Samurai, Trebuchet, Frigate, Anti-Tank Gun, Zero
Buildings: Forge

Oil
Production: +1
Base Hex: Jungle, Marsh, Desert, Tundra, Snow, or Ocean
Technology Required: Biology
Improvement Needed: Oil Well or Offshore Platform
Units: Battleship, Carrier, Fighter, Panzer, Submarine, Tank, Zero, B17, Bomber
Buildings: None

Uranium
Production: +1
Base Hex: Forests, Jungle,  Plains, Desert, Marsh, Grassland, Tundra
Snow, or Hills
Technology Required: Atomic Theory
Improvement Needed: Mine
Units: Giant Death Robot, Atomic Bomb, Nuclear Missile
Buildings: Nuclear Plant