List of countries by system of government
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This is a list of countries categorized by system of government.
Contents |
Presidential republics
Where a president is the active head of the executive branch of government and is independent from the legislature. The following list includes democratic and non-democratic states:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of the Congo
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Cyprus
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- France
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Indonesia
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Republic of Korea
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mexico
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Russia
- Rwanda
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Serbia and Montenegro
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United States
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Parliamentary republics
Where a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government and also leader of the legislature. However, there is also a president who serves as a symbolic head of state in some figurehead capacity. The following list includes democratic and non-democratic states:
- Albania
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Dominica
- East Timor
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Macedonia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Ireland
- Romania
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Vanuatu
Constitutional monarchies
Where a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government and also leader of the legislature. The head of state is a constitutional monarch who only exercises his or her powers with the consent of the government and is largely a figurehead.
- Andorra
- Belgium
- Cambodia
- Denmark
- Japan
- Lesotho
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Samoa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Thailand
Semi-constitutional monarchies
The prime minister (or equivalent) is the nation's active executive, but the monarch still has considerable political powers that can be used at his/her own independent discretion.
Commonwealth realms
Constitutional monarchies, in which the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II serves as head of state over an independent government. The Queen appoints a Governor General to each country other than the United Kingdom to act as her representative. The prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government and also leader of the legislature.
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Canada
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Solomon Islands
- Tuvalu
- United Kingdom
Absolute monarchies
Monarchies in which the monarch is the active head of the executive branch and exercises all powers.
Theocracies
Non-democratic states based on a state religion where the head of state is selected by some form of religious hierarchy.
One-party and no-party states
Non-democratic states in which political power is concentrated within a single political party whose operations are largely fused with the government hiearchy.
- People's Republic of China
- Cuba
- Eritrea
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Laos
- Libya
- Syria
- Turkmenistan
- Vietnam
Military Junta states
The nation's armed forces control the organs of government and all high-ranking political executives are also members of the military hiearchy.
- Myanmar (Burma)
Transitional
States which have a system of government which is in transition or turmoil and cannot be accurately classified.
Systems of Internal Governance
Federal
States in which the federal government shares power with semi-independent regional governments.
- Argentina (23 provinces and 1 autonomous city)
- Australia (6 states and 2 territories)
- Austria (9 states)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska)
- Brazil (26 states and 1 federal district)
- Canada (10 provinces and 3 territories)
- Comoros (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mohéli and Mayotte)
- Germany (16 states)
- India (28 states and 7 union territories)
- Malaysia (13 states and 3 federal territories)
- Mexico (31 states)
- Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap)
- Nigeria (36 states)
- Pakistan (4 provinces and 1 territory)
- Palau (16 states)
- Papua New Guinea (20 provinces)
- Russia (49 oblasts, 21 republics, 10 autonomous okrugs, 6 krays, 2 cities, 1 autonomous oblast)
- Serbia and Montenegro (Serbia and Montenegro)
- South Africa (9 provinces)
- Switzerland (26 cantons)
- United Arab Emirates (7 emirates)
- United States (50 states)
- Venezuela (23 states and 1 capital district)
Unitary
Unitary state in which the central government has delegated some of its powers to self-governing regional governments.
- Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia)
- France
- Italy (20 regions, five granted 'autonomous' status)
- People's Republic of China (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau)
- Spain (17 autonomous communities)
- United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, plus the remainder, England)
Semi-Federal
- Antigua and Barbuda (Barbuda)
- Georgia (Abkhazia and Adzharia)
- Mauritius (Rodrigues)
- Moldova (Transnistria and Gagauzia)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (Nevis)
- São Tomé and Príncipe (Príncipe)
- Tanzania (Zanzibar)
- Trinidad and Tobago (Tobago)