This is a list of countries categorized by system of government currently in use.

Democratic republics

In which a country is governed by an elected president, or a cabinet appointed by an elected legislature.

Africa

• Angola
• Benin
• Botswana
• Cape Verde
• Comoros
• Ghana
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritius
• Mozambique (authoritarian tendencies)
• Namibia
• Niger
• Nigeria (chronic political turmoil; republic transitioning from military to civilian rule)
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Senegal
• Seychelles (quasi-authoritarian)
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania (quasi-authoritarian)
• Zambia

Asia

• Bangladesh (chronic political turmoil)
• Republic of China (known as Taiwan)
• East Timor
• Fiji
• India
• Indonesia (elements of military rule)
• Israel
• Kiribati
• Republic of Korea
• Lebanon (chronic political turmoil; elements of military rule)
• Marshall Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Mongolia
• Nauru
• Palau
• Philippines (chronic political turmoil)
• Singapore (authoritarian tendencies; one-party rule)
• Sri Lanka (chronic political turmoil; authoritarian tendencies)
• Turkey
• Vanuatu

Europe

• Albania
• Armenia (authoritarian tendencies)
• Austria
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Republic of Ireland
• Italy (slight authoritarian tendencies)
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Malta
• Moldova
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia (authoritarian tendencies)
• San Marino
• Serbia and Montenegro
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Switzerland
• Ukraine

North America

• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Mexico
• Panama
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United States

South America

• Argentina (presidential system)
• Bolivia (presidential system)
• Brazil (presidential system)
• Chile (presidential system)
• Colombia (chronic political turmoil)
• Ecuador (presidential system)
• Guyana (parliamentary system)
• Paraguay (presidential system)
• Peru (presidential system; authoritarian tendencies)
• Suriname (parliamentary system)
• Uruguay (presidential system)
• Venezuela (presidential system)

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. (see also Current monarchies)

Africa

• Lesotho (kingdom; authoritarian tendencies)
• Morocco (kingdom; authoritarian tendencies)

Asia

• Australia (Commonwealth realm)
• Bhutan (kingdom)
• Cambodia (kingdom)
• Japan (constitutional monarchy)
• Jordan (kingdom; authoritarian tendencies)
• Malaysia (elective monarchy; authoritarian tendencies)
• New Zealand (Commonwealth realm)
• Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth realm)
• Samoa (traditional monarchy)
• Solomon Islands (Commonwealth realm; chronic political turmoil)
• Thailand (constitutional monarchy)
• Tuvalu (Commonwealth realm)

Europe

• Andorra (coprincipality)
• Belgium (kingdom)
• Denmark (kingdom)
• Liechtenstein (principality)
• Luxembourg (grand duchy)
• Monaco (principality; authoritarian tendencies)
• Netherlands (kingdom)
• Norway (kingdom)
• Spain (kingdom)
• Sweden (kingdom)
• United Kingdom (kingdom)

North America and the Caribbean

• Antigua and Barbuda (Commonwealth realm)
• Bahamas (Commonwealth realm)
• Barbados (Commonwealth realm)
• Belize (Commonwealth realm)
• Canada (Commonwealth realm)
• Grenada (Commonwealth realm)
• Jamaica (Commonwealth realm)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (Commonwealth realm)
• Saint Lucia (Commonwealth realm)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Commonwealth realm)

Commonwealth realms share Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state.

Absolute monarchies

In which a country is governed solely by an absolute monarch, possibly along with other members of his family.

• Bahrain (kingdom; slight theocratic tendancies)
• Brunei Darussalam (sultanate)
• Kuwait (emirate; slight theocratic tendancies)
• Oman (sultanate; theocratic tendancies)
• Nepal (kingdom; chronic political turmoil)
• Qatar (emirate; slight theocratic tendancies)
• Saudi Arabia (kingdom; theocratic monarchy)
• Swaziland (kingdom)
• Tonga (kingdom)
• United Arab Emirates (federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates; slight theocratic tendancies)
• Vatican City (Holy See; theocratic monarchy)

Authoritarian governments

Country is governed by single-party hierarchy that does not allow for effective popular opposition.

Africa

• Algeria (elements of military rule)
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Chad (elements of military rule)
• Republic of Congo
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Equatorial Guinea (elements of military rule)
• Eritrea (all opposition banned; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections had been scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely)
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Guinea (elements of military rule)
• Libya (all opposition banned; elements of military and theocratic rule)
• Mauritania (elements of military rule)
• Rwanda (elements of military rule)
• Togo (elements of military rule)
• Tunisia
• Uganda (elements of military rule)
• Zimbabwe (elements of military rule)

Asia

• Azerbaijan
• Iran (authoritarian republic, theocracratic elements)
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Maldives (opposition effectively banned)
• Pakistan (elements of military and theocratic rule)
• Syria (elements of military rule)
• Tajikistan (chronic political turmoil)
• Turkmenistan (all opposition banned; totalitarian one-man dictatorship)
• Uzbekistan
• Yemen

Europe

• Belarus

Military governments

In which a country is governed by the military which has seized control of the nation's political institutions.

• Central African Republic
• Myanmar (known by opponents of the regime by the old name Burma)
• Sudan (elements of theocratic rule, anarchy)

Communist states

• Cuba (deformed workers' state, authoritarian socialist)
• People's Republic of China (deformed workers' state, authoritarian)
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) (extreme Stalinist/totalitarian state; dictatorship)
• Laos (elements of military rule)
• Vietnam

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 U.S.-led invasion and fall of the Taliban; transitional)
• Burundi (since the peace agreement to end civil war)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (dictatorship; presumably undergoing a transition to representative government)
• Haiti (since Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed)
• Iraq (since the U.S.-led invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein. Elements of theocracy, anarchy, and military government in various regions)
• Liberia (since President Charles Taylor was deposed)
• Somalia (no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary national government)
• Côte d'Ivoire (civil war)

This list may be subject to debate. Some countries may fall into more than one category.

See also

• List of forms of government

External links

• Countries categorized by system of government in 20th century at Historical Atlas of 20th Century (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm)