The world's nations are characterised by the following attributes. Each player is aware of the actual statistics for their own nations, and these numbers will be largely secret, though they may of course be discovered through espionage and other game factors. Furthermore, significant changes are most likely going to be common knowledge, particularly in nearby nations.

Note that in international events, no one attribute is considered by itself. When looking at the success of espionage activities, for example, your nation's Technology and Education levels are going to be considered along with Intelligence. Conversely, when others attempt espionage upon your nation, Technology, Intelligence, and other factors such as quality of life will all play a part. In military conflicts, though Military is of course a primary factor, Technology, Magic and even Education or Economy may play a factor, as well as Intelligence, not to mention more nebulous factors such as deployment of troops, terrain, tactics and such. When considering how your population lives, factors such as quality of life are determined by a host of attributes, such as Education, Technology, Intelligence, and Luxuries. Though the temptation is to improve Industry, Economy, Military and Technology at the expense of others, neglecting any attribute is to your peril.

Each attribute is described below. In brackets after the attribute name is the current world leader in that attribute.

Military (Ottoman Empire):  Represents military strength, through numbers of troops, quality of equipment, and training. Note that other attributes are also highly relevant to this, such as Education, Technology, and Economy.

Technology (Spain):  Represents technological base of society, and is important for your nations application of modern technology, as well as having access to the cutting edge. Other attributes that are important to this include Economy, Resources and Education.

Education (France):  Represents education level of populace, and is important for research and quality of life in general. Bear in mind also that a more educated populace generally demands greater freedoms. Economy and Luxuries also have a bearing on the effects of this attribute.

Intelligence (China):  Represents diplomatic and espionage activities both at home and abroad. A nation with strong Intelligence can generally also control its own populace better, most likely through the use of secret police or the like. Education, Technology, and indeed most other attributes can have a bearing on this one.

Luxuries (France):  Represents culture, the arts, and overall quality of life for your population. More luxuries leads to a richer and generally more desirable way of life, at least for the rich, anyway. Military strength can wane, however, as a population demands a higher standard of living at odds with military necessities. Education, Technology, Economy and Resources have most bearing on Luxuries.

Magic (Egypt):  Represents not only relative strength of a nation's magic and sorcerers, but also how ingrained the practice of magic and magical research is in the nation's culture. Nations with more Magic have more sorcerers to call upon, and will also tend to have sorcerers in more important roles in that country's government and social structure. Education has a bearing on Magic, but Technology tends to have an opposite effect, in that nations with higher Technology tend to neglect their Magic. 

Economy (Avalon):  Represents trade, wealth, and buying power the world over. Strong economies are one of the major divisions between powerful nations and weak ones. Industry, Technology and Luxuries have great bearing on economic strength.

Industry (Germany):  Represents sheer output and construction power. Although an unbalanced Industry can result in a lower quality of life and making your nation an unpleasant place in general, it is vital for any nation that aspires to greatness. Economy, Resources, and Technology are major factors in industrial capacity.

Resources (France/Iroquois):  Represents resources available to your nation, such as minerals, large animal populations, plant resources, or even something such as slaves. Nations with extensive colonies or great tracts of land will have higher Resources. You may not improve Resources. I may put it up or reduce it from time to time, but you have no control over this (except indirectly, of course, by doing things like conquering new territories). Note also that Resources are not necessarily tapped; this attribute represents potential, rather than actual usage.

Infrastructure (Holy Roman Empire):  A catch-all category that has a bearing on every other attribute. Infrastructure represents roads, agriculture, networks, hierarchies of religion and government, and the other developed social and industrial factors that make a developed society more developed. It is very difficult to improve any attribute significantly while neglecting Infrastructure.