List of socialist countries
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This is a list of countries, past and present, that declared themselves to be socialist states either in their names or their constitutions, regardless of the type of economic systems they had. No other criteria are used; thus, some or all of these countries may not fit any specific definition of socialism or may never have had socialist economic systems. Their only common feature is using the label "socialist" to describe their orientation, under any interpretation.
There are many countries that have been ruled by socialist political parties for extended periods of time without ever adopting socialism as an official ideology in their names or constitutions. Such countries are not listed here. However, see the article on the Socialist International for an up-to-date list of countries that are currently ruled by member parties of the SI (the largest present day organization of social democratic political parties).
Conversely, there are some countries that maintain constitutional references to socialism without being currently ruled by a socialist political party and without being committed to the establishment of socialism. Those countries are included on this list.
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Marxist-Leninist [edit]
These countries are known as "Communist states" in the West, because their ruling parties generally use the name "Communist Party of [country]."[citation needed] However, the countries themselves are referred to as socialist republics, not communist in their own constitutions. They are defined by a form of government in which the state operates under a one-party system and declares allegiance to the ideology of Marxism-Leninism.[citation needed] In accordance with Marxism-Leninism, the constitutions of these countries claim that all power belongs to the working class, that a democratic dictatorship of the proletariat has been implemented within their borders, and that they are building socialism, with the goal of achieving communism one day.
Current [edit]
| Country | Since | Party | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
 People's Republic of China |
1 October 1949 | Communist Party of China | Xi Jinping Li Keqiang |
 Republic of Cuba |
1 July 1961 | Communist Party of Cuba | Raúl Castro |
 Lao People's Democratic Republic |
2 December 1975 | Lao People's Revolutionary Party | Choummaly Sayasone Thongsing Thammavong |
 Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
2 September 1945 (in the north) 2 July 1976 (unified) |
Communist Party of Vietnam | Nguyen Phu Trong Nguyen Tan Dung Truong Tan Sang |
Former [edit]
Constituent republics of the Soviet Union [edit]
Non-Marxist-Leninist [edit]
These are countries whose constitutions make references to socialism, but do not subscribe to Marxist-Leninist ideology. As such, they represent a wide variety of different interpretations of the term socialism. Countries such as Egypt and Libya, for example, have adopted different versions of Arab socialism as their ideology at some point in their history. Tanzania, on the other hand, adopted African socialism as its official doctrine. Portugal and Sri Lanka declared themselves to be following democratic socialism.
Current countries with constitutional references to socialism [edit]
| Country | From | Form of government |
|---|---|---|
 People's Republic of Bangladesh |
11 April 1971 | Multi-party system |
 Cooperative Republic of Guyana |
6 October 1980 | Multi-party system |
 Republic of India |
15 August 1947 | Multi-party system |
 Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
19 February 1992 | One-party system |
 Portuguese Republic |
2 April 1976 | Multi-party system |
 Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
7 September 1978 | Multi-party system |
 United Republic of Tanzania |
26 April 1964 | Multi-party system |
Former [edit]
Ephemeral [edit]
These are short-lived political entities that emerged during wars or revolutions (mostly in the aftermath of World War I) and declared themselves to be socialist under some interpretation of the term, but did not survive long enough to create a stable government or achieve international recognition.
Alsace Soviet Republic (November 9–22, 1918)
Asturian Socialist Republic (October 5–18, 1934)
Azerbaijan People's Government (November 1945 – December 1946)- Bavarian Soviet Republic (April 6 – May 3, 1919)
- Saxony Soviet (November, 1918 - March 14, 1919) [2]
- Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic (May – September 1919)
Socialist Republic of Chile (4 June - 2 October 1932)
Provisional Government of the Republic of China (January 1, 1912 - March 11, 1912)
Chinese Soviet Republic (November 7, 1931 - October 10, 1934)
People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China (November 22, 1933 - January 13, 1934)
Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic (February 12 – May 1918)
Commune of the Working People of Estonia (November 29, 1918 – June 5, 1919)- Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (January 28 – April 29, 1918)
Finnish Democratic Republic (December 1939 - March 1940)
Galician Soviet Socialist Republic (July 8 – September 21, 1920)
National Revolutionary Council of Gambia (July 30, 1981 - August 5, 1981)
Free Socialist Republic of Germany (November 9, 1918 – August 11, 1919)
Hunan Soviet (1927)- Hungarian Soviet Republic (March 21 – August 6, 1919)
People's Republic of Korea (September 6, 1945 - February, 1946)- Provisional People's Committee for North Korea (February, 1946 - September 9, 1948)
- Limerick Soviet (April 15–27, 1919)
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (December 17, 1918 - January 13, 1920)
Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (February 27 – August 25, 1919)
Republic of Mahabad (January 22 – December 15, 1946)- Mughan Soviet Republic (March – June 1919)
Soviet Republic of Naissaar (December 1917 – February 26, 1918)- Odessa Soviet Republic (January 31 – March 13, 1918)
- Paris Commune (March 18 – May 28, 1871, first socialist republic in history)
Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (June 9, 1920 – September 1921)
Political Committee of National Liberation (March 10, 1944 - August 28 1949)
Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (June 8, 1969 – June 2, 1976)
Slovak Soviet Republic (June 16 – July 7, 1919)
Democratic Republic of Yemen (May 21 – July 7, 1994)
Nghe-Tinh Soviet (1930-1931)
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ In 1992 all references to Marxism-Leninism in the DPRK constitution were dropped and replaced with Juche. http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1934&context=ilj
- ^ [1]
