List of countries by system of government

This is a list of countries by system of government. There is also a political mapping of the world that shows what form of government each country has, as well as a brief description of what each form of government entails. The list is colour-coded according to the type of government, for example: blue represents a republic with an executive head of state, and pink is a constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial head of state. The colour-coding also appears on the following map, representing the same government categories. The legend of what the different colours represent is found just below the map. It is noteworthy that some scholars in People's Republic of China claim that the country's system of government is "Semi-presidential system combining party and government in actual operation".

List of countries

Map

A colour-coded legend of forms of government.

Legend

•   Presidential Republic: Head of state is executive; presidency is independent of legislature; ministry is independent of legislature
•   Semi-Presidential Republic: Head of state is executive; presidency is independent of legislature; ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence
•   Semi-Parliamentary Republic: Head of state is executive; presidency is elected by legislature; ministry may or may not be subject to parliamentary confidence
•   Parliamentary republic: Head of state is ceremonial; ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence
•   Constitutional monarchy: Head of state is executive; Monarch personally exercises power in concert with other institutions
•   Constitutional parliamentary monarchy: Head of state is ceremonial; ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence
•   Absolute monarchy: Head of state is executive; all authority vested in absolute monarch
•   One-party state: Head of state is executive; power constitutionally linked to a single political movement
•   No constitutionally defined basis to current regime

Note: this chart represent de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy. Several states that are constitutional republics are in practice ruled as authoritarian states.

UN member states and observers

Name	Constitutional form	Head of state	Basis of executive legitimacy
Afghanistan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Albania	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Algeria	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Andorra	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Angola	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Antigua and Barbuda	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Argentina	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Armenia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Australia	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Austria	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Azerbaijan	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Bahamas, The	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Bahrain	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Bangladesh	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Barbados	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Belarus	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Belgium	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Belize	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Benin	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Bhutan	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Bolivia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Botswana	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Brazil	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Brunei	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Bulgaria	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Burkina Faso	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Burundi	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Cambodia	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Cameroon	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Canada	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Cape Verde	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Central African Republic	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Chad	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Chile	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
China, People's Republic of	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Colombia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Comoros	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Congo, Republic of the	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Costa Rica	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Côte d'Ivoire	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Croatia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Cuba	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Cyprus	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Czech Republic	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Denmark	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Djibouti	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Dominica	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Dominican Republic	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
East Timor	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Ecuador	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Egypt	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
El Salvador	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Equatorial Guinea	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Eritrea	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Estonia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Eswatini	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Ethiopia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Federated States of Micronesia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Fiji	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Finland	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
France	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Gabon	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Gambia, The	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Georgia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Germany	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Ghana	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Greece	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Grenada	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Guatemala	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Guinea	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Guinea-Bissau	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Guyana	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Haiti	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Honduras	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Hungary	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Iceland	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
India	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Indonesia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Iran	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Iraq	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Ireland	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Israel	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Italy	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Jamaica	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Japan	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Jordan	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Kazakhstan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Kenya	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Kiribati	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Korea, North	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Korea, South	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Kuwait	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Kyrgyzstan	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Laos	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Latvia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Lebanon	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Lesotho	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Liberia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Libya	Provisional	N/A	No constitutionally-defined basis to current regime
Liechtenstein	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Lithuania	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Luxembourg	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Madagascar	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Malawi	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Malaysia	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Maldives	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Mali	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Malta	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Marshall Islands	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Mauritania	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Mauritius	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Mexico	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Moldova	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Monaco	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Mongolia	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Montenegro	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Morocco	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Mozambique	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Myanmar	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Namibia	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Nauru	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Nepal	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Netherlands	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
New Zealand	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Nicaragua	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Niger	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Nigeria	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
North Macedonia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Norway	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Oman	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Pakistan	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Palau	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Palestine	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Panama	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Papua New Guinea	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Paraguay	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Peru	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Philippines	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Poland	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Portugal	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Qatar	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Romania	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Russia	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Rwanda	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Saint Lucia	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Samoa	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
San Marino	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
São Tomé and Príncipe	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Saudi Arabia	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Senegal	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Serbia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Seychelles	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Sierra Leone	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Singapore	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Slovakia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Slovenia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Solomon Islands	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Somalia	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
South Africa	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
South Sudan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Spain	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Sri Lanka	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Sudan	Provisional	N/A	No constitutionally-defined basis to current regime
Suriname	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Sweden	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Switzerland	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Syria	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Tajikistan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Tanzania	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Thailand	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Togo	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Tonga	Constitutional monarchy	Executive	Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Trinidad and Tobago	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Tunisia	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Turkey	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Turkmenistan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Tuvalu	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Uganda	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Ukraine	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
United Arab Emirates	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarchFederal Monarchy
United Kingdom	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
United States	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Uruguay	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Uzbekistan	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Vanuatu	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Vatican City	Absolute monarchy	Executive	All authority vested in absolute monarch
Venezuela	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Vietnam	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Yemen	Provisional	N/A	No constitutionally-defined basis to current regime
Zambia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Zimbabwe	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature

Note that Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Mauritania are Islamic Republics.

Partially recognized states

The following states control their territory and are recognized by at least one UN member state.

Name	Constitutional form	Head of state	Basis of executive legitimacy
Abkhazia	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Cook Islands	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Kosovo	Republic	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Niue	Constitutional monarchy	Ceremonial	Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
Northern Cyprus	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Republic of China	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Republic	Executive	Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
South Ossetia	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature

Unrecognized states

The following states/governments control their territory, but are not recognised by any UN member state.

Name	Constitutional form	Head of state	Basis of executive legitimacy
Artsakh	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Somaliland	Republic	Executive	Head of state is the head of government and is independent of legislature
Transnistria	Republic	Executive	President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature

Systems of governance

Italics indicate states with limited recognition.

Presidential systems

These are systems in which a president is the active head of the executive branch of government, and is elected and remains in office independently of the legislature.

In full presidential systems, the president is both head of state and head of government. There is generally no prime minister, although if one exists, in most cases, he or she serves purely at the discretion of the president (with the exceptions being Belarus and Kazakhstan, where the prime minister is effectively the head of government).

The following list includes democratic and non-democratic states:

Presidential systems without a prime minister

The President has full executive powers.

• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Argentina
• Artsakh
• Benin
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Chad
• Chile
• Colombia
• Comoros
• Costa Rica
• Cyprus
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Gambia, The
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Kenya
• Liberia
• Malawi
• Maldives
• Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Nigeria
• Palau
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Philippines
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Somaliland
• South Sudan
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• United States
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Presidential systems with a prime minister

• Belarus
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Djibouti
• Gabon
• Guinea
• Equatorial Guinea
• Guyana
• Ivory Coast
• Kazakhstan
• South Korea
• Peru
• Rwanda
• Sudan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Uganda
• Uzbekistan
• Yemen

Note: Iran may be considered to be a theocracy as the government is intertwined with the religious hierarchy

Semi-presidential systems

In semi-presidential systems, there is always both a president and a head of government, commonly but not exclusively styled Prime Minister. In such systems, the president has genuine executive authority, unlike in a parliamentary republic, but the role of a head of government may be exercised by the prime minister.

Premier-presidential systems

The president chooses the prime minister and cabinet, but only the parliament may remove them from office with a vote of no confidence. The president does not have the right to dismiss the prime minister or the cabinet.

• Algeria
• Burkina Faso
• Cape Verde
• Congo, Democratic Republic of the
• East Timor
• Egypt
• France
• Haiti
• Lithuania
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mongolia
• Niger
• Northern Cyprus
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Sri Lanka
• Tunisia
• Ukraine

President-parliamentary systems

The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet without the confidence vote from the parliament, but must have the support of the parliament majority for their choice. In order to remove a prime minister or the whole cabinet from power, the president can dismiss them or the assembly can remove them by a vote of no confidence.

• Azerbaijan
• Congo, Republic of the
• Guinea-Bissau
• Mauritania
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Palestine
• Russia
• South Ossetia
• Syria
• Taiwan (ROC)
• Transnistria

Parliamentary systems

In a parliamentary republic, the head of government is selected by, or nominated by, the legislature and is also accountable to it, except in the case of assembly-independent systems like Suriname. The head of state is ordinarily called president, and in most parliamentary republics is separate from the head of government and serves as a largely apolitical, ceremonial figure. In these systems, the head of government is usually called prime minister, chancellor or premier. In mixed republican systems and directorial republican systems, the head of government also serves as head of state and is usually titled president.

Full parliamentary republican systems

In some full parliamentary systems, the head of state is directly elected by voters. Under some classification systems, however, these systems may instead be classed as semi-presidential systems, despite their weak presidency. Full parliamentary systems that do not have a directly elected head of state usually use either an electoral college or a vote in the legislature to appoint the head of state.

Directly elected head of state

• Austria
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Finland
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia

Indirectly elected head of state

• Albania
• Armenia
• Bangladesh
• Dominica
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Fiji
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• India
• Iraq
• Israel
• Italy
• Kosovo
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Malta
• Mauritius
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Samoa
• Somalia
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Vanuatu

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Parliamentary republic with an executive presidency

A combined head of state and government in the form of an executive president is either elected by the legislature or by the voters after a few candidates are nominated for the post by the legislature (in the case of Kiribati), and they must maintain the confidence of the legislature to remain in office

• Botswana
• Kiribati
• Marshall Islands
• Nauru
• South Africa

Assembly-independent republican systems

A combined head of state and head of government (usually entitled "president") is elected by the legislature, and is immune from a vote of no confidence (as well is their cabinet), unlike a prime minister. They may or may not hold a seat in the legislature.

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Myanmar
• San Marino
• Suriname

Directorial republican systems

In the directorial system, a council jointly exercises the powers of both head of state and head of government. The council is elected by the parliament, but it is not subject to parliamentary confidence during its term which has a fixed duration.

• Switzerland

Constitutional monarchies

These are systems in which the head of state is a constitutional monarch; the existence of their office and their ability to exercise their authority is established and restrained or held back by constitutional law.

Constitutional monarchies with ceremonial/non-executive monarchs

Systems in which a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government. In some cases the prime minister is also leader of the legislature, in other cases the executive branch is clearly separated from legislature although the entire cabinet or individual ministers must step down in the case of a vote of no confidence. The head of state is a constitutional monarch who normally only exercises his or her powers (some monarchs are given a limited number of discretionary 'reserve' powers, only to be used in certain circumstances; many monarchs are given the responsibility to defend the nation's constitution) with the consent of the government, the people and/or their representatives (except in emergencies, e.g. a constitutional crisis or a political deadlock).

• Andorra
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belgium
• Belize
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Cook Islands
• Denmark
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Lesotho
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Niue
• Norway
• Papua New Guinea
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Solomon Islands
• Spain
• Sweden
• Tuvalu
• United Kingdom

Constitutional monarchies with active monarchs

The prime minister is the nation's active executive, but the monarch still has considerable political powers that can be used at their own discretion.

• Bahrain
• Bhutan
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Liechtenstein
• Monaco
• Morocco
• Thailand
• Tonga

Note: Andorra may be considered a theocracy as the monarch is a joint head of state alongside a religious figure

Absolute monarchies

Specifically, monarchies in which the monarch's exercise of power is unconstrained by any substantive constitutional law.

• Brunei
• Eswatini
• Oman
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Vatican City

Note: Vatican City may be considered a theocracy as the monarch is elected by a religious body

One-party states

States in which political power is by law concentrated within one political party whose operations are largely fused with the government hierarchy (as opposed to states where the law establishes a multi-party system but this fusion is not achieved anyway through electoral fraud or simple inertia). However, some do have elected governments.

• China, People's Republic of (Communist Party leads the United Front) (list)
• Cuba (Communist Party) (list)
• Eritrea (People's Front for Democracy and Justice) (list)
• Korea, North (Workers' Party leads the Democratic Front) (list)
• Laos (People's Revolutionary Party leads the Front for National Construction) (list)
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Polisario Front) (Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)
• Vietnam (Communist Party leads the Fatherland Front) (list)

Military dictatorships

The nation's military control the organs of government and all high-ranking political executives are also members of the military hierarchy.

No state is currently governed in this manner, though many have been in the past such as Pakistan and Myanmar under the State Peace and Development Council.

Transitional governments

States that have a system of government that is in transition or turmoil and are classified with the current direction of change.

• Libya (provisional government)
• Sudan (provisional government)
• Yemen (provisional government)

Systems of internal structure

Unitary states

Main article: Unitary state

A state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate.

The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states, 165 are governed as unitary states.

Centralised unitary states

States in which most power is excercised by the central government. What local authorities do exist have few powers.

Regionalised unitary states

Main article: Regional state

States in which the central government has delegated some of its powers to regional authorities.

• Bolivia (9 regions, of which 9 are autonomous)
• China, People's Republic of (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 province-level municipalities, 2 special administrative regions, and 1 claimed province)
• China, Republic of (2 provinces, 6 special municipalities, 33 claimed provinces, 3 claimed special administrative regions, 2 regions, 12 claimed special municipalities, 14 leagues, and 4 special banners)
• France (18 regions, of which 6 are autonomous)
• Indonesia (34 provinces, of which 5 provinces have special status)
• Italy (20 regions, of which 5 are autonomous)
• Kingdom of the Netherlands (4 constituent countries)
• Philippines (one autonomous region subdivided into 5 provinces and 113 other provinces and independent cities grouped into 17 other non-autonomous regions)
• Portugal (2 autonomous regions)
• Spain (17 autonomous communities, 15 communities of common-regime, 1 community of chartered regime, 3 chartered provinces, 2 autonomous cities)
• Tanzania (21 mainland regions and Zanzibar)
• Ukraine (24 oblasts, 2 cities with special status, and Crimea)
• United Kingdom (4 constituent countries, 3 devolved administrations), 14 British Overseas Territories

Federation

Main article: Federation

States in which the federal government shares power with semi-independent regional governments. The central government may or may not be (in theory) a creation of the regional governments.

• Argentina (23 provinces and one autonomous city: Buenos Aires)
• Australia (six states and ten territories)
• Austria (nine states)
• Belgium (three regions and three linguistic communities)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (two entities and one district)
• Brazil (26 states and the Federal District)
• Canada (ten provinces and three territories)
• Comoros (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mohéli)
• Ethiopia (nine regions and two chartered cities)
• Germany (16 states)
• India (28 states and 8 union territories)
• Iraq (18 governorates and one region: Kurdistan)
• Malaysia (13 states and three federal territories)
• Mexico (31 states and one federal district: Mexico City)
• Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap)
• Nepal (seven provinces)
• Nigeria (36 states and one federal territory: Federal Capital Territory)
• Pakistan (4 provinces, 2 autonomous territories and 1 federal territory)
• Russia (46 oblasts, 22 republics, nine krais, four autonomous okrugs, three federal cities, one autonomous oblast)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (Saint Kitts, Nevis)
• Somalia (six federal member states)
• South Sudan (ten states)
• Sudan (17 states)
• Switzerland (26 cantons)
• United Arab Emirates (seven emirates)
• United States (50 states, one incorporated territory, and one federal district: District of Columbia)
• Venezuela (23 states, one capital district and one federal dependency)

European Union

Main article: List of European Union member states by political system

The exact political character of the European Union is debated, some arguing that it is sui generis (unique), but others arguing that it has features of a federation or a confederation. It has elements of intergovernmentalism, with the European Council acting as its collective "president", and also elements of supranationalism, with the European Commission acting as its executive and bureaucracy. But it is not easily placed in any of the above categories.

See also

• List of countries
• List of countries by date of transition to republican system of government
• List of current heads of state and government
• Government

External links

• Global Scan- Election Tracker
• Countries categorized by system of government in 20th century at Historical Atlas of 20th Century
• A Chronology of political history based on Government form
• Political Chronology Chronological development of political history
• Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2012