List of countries by system of government
This is a list of countries categorized by system of government currently in use.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Democratic constitutional monarchies 3 Absolute monarchies 4 Authoritarian republics 5 Military governments 6 Communist states 7 Transitional governments |
Democratic republics
In which a country is governed by an elected head of state and legislature.- Albania
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Colombia
- Republic of the Congo
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- The Gambia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Republic of Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Republic of Korea
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lithuania
- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Serbia and Montenegro
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Switzerland
- Tanzania
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United States
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Zambia
Democratic constitutional monarchies
In which a country is governed by an elected legislature and prime minister, with a monarch as a symbolic head of state.- Andorra (coprincipality)
- Antigua and Barbuda (Commonwealth realm)
- Australia (Commonwealth realm)
- The Bahamas (Commonwealth realm)
- Barbados (Commonwealth realm)
- Belgium (kingdom)
- Belize (Commonwealth realm)
- Cambodia (kingdom)
- Canada (Commonwealth realm)
- Denmark (kingdom)
- Grenada (Commonwealth realm)
- Jamaica (Commonwealth realm)
- Japan (monarchy; head of state is emperor, but the state is not an empire)
- Jordan (kingdom)
- Lesotho (kingdom)
- Liechtenstein (principality)
- Luxembourg (grand duchy)
- Malaysia (elective monarchy)
- Monaco (principality)
- Morocco (kingdom)
- Nepal (kingdom)
- Netherlands (kingdom)
- New Zealand (Commonwealth realm)
- Norway (kingdom)
- Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth realm)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (Commonwealth realm)
- Saint Lucia (Commonwealth realm)
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Commonwealth realm)
- Samoa (monarchy)
- Solomon Islands (Commonwealth realm)
- Spain (kingdom)
- Sweden (kingdom)
- Thailand (kingdom)
- Tuvalu (Commonwealth realm)
- United Kingdom (kingdom)
Absolute monarchies
In which a country is governed solely by an absolute monarch along with other members of his family.- Bahrain (kingdom)
- Bhutan (kingdom)
- Brunei Darussalam (sultanate)
- Kuwait (emirate)
- Oman (sultanate)
- Qatar (emirate)
- Saudi Arabia (kingdom)
- Swaziland (kingdom)
- Tonga (kingdom)
- United Arab Emirates (collection of emirates)
- Vatican City (papal state)
Authoritarian republics
In which a country is governed by a dictatorial leader or a single-party hierarchy that does not allow for effective popular opposition.- Algeria
- Angola
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Chad
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea (all opposition banned)
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Iran (Islamic theocracy)
- Kazakhstan
- Libya (all opposition banned)
- Maldives (opposition effectively banned)
- Mauritania
- Pakistan
- Rwanda
- Singapore (nominally democratic; governed by one party since independence)
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan (all opposition banned)
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
Military governments
In which a country is governed by the military which has seized control of the nation's political institutions.Communist states
In which a country is governed by a Communist Party hierarchy that has banned all opposition. These governments also fit under the category of "authoritarian republics."Transitional governments
In which a country is governed by a recently-established caretaker administration, and thus cannot be accurately identified as one of the above.- Afghanistan (since the US invasion and fall of the Taliban)
- Burundi (since the peace agreement to end civil war)
- Comoros (since a secessionist crisis)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (since the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila)
- East Timor (since the end of Indonesian occupation)
- Guinea-Bissau (since the coup deposing President Kumba Ialá)
- Iraq (since the US invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein)
- Liberia (since dictator Charles Taylor fled to Nigeria)
- Somalia (since the fall of Siad Barre in 1991)
