FIELD LISTING :: GOVERNMENT TYPE
This entry gives the basic form of government. Definitions of the major governmental terms are as follows. (Note that for some countries more than one definition applies.):
| Country | GOVERNMENT TYPE |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan |
Islamic republic |
| Albania |
parliamentary democracy |
| Algeria |
republic |
| American Samoa |
NA |
| Andorra |
parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains as its chiefs of state a co-principality; the two princes are the President of France and Bishop of Urgell, whose diocese is located in neighboring Spain; both co-princes maintain offices and representatives in Andorra |
| Angola |
republic; multiparty presidential regime |
| Anguilla |
NA |
| Antarctica |
Antarctic Treaty Summary - the Antarctic region is governed by a system known as the Antarctic Treaty System; the system includes: 1. the Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, which establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica, 2. Recommendations and Measures adopted at meetings of Antarctic Treaty countries, 3. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972), 4. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980), and 5. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991); the 33rd Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay in May 2010; at these periodic meetings, decisions are made by consensus (not by vote) of all consultative member nations; by April 2010, there were 48 treaty member nations: 28 consultative and 20 non-consultative; consultative (decision-making) members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and 21 non-claimant nations; the US and Russia have reserved the right to make claims; the US does not recognize the claims of others; Antarctica is administered through meetings of the consultative member nations; decisions from these meetings are carried out by these member nations (with respect to their own nationals and operations) in accordance with their own national laws; the years in parentheses indicate when a consultative member-nation acceded to the Treaty and when it was accepted as a consultative member, while no date indicates the country was an original 1959 treaty signatory; claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and the UK; nonclaimant consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1975/1983), Bulgaria (1978/1998), China (1983/1985), Ecuador (1987/1990), Finland (1984/1989), Germany (1979/1981), India (1983/1983), Italy (1981/1987), Japan, South Korea (1986/1989), Netherlands (1967/1990), Peru (1981/1989), Poland (1961/1977), Russia, South Africa, Spain (1982/1988), Sweden (1984/1988), Ukraine (1992/2004), Uruguay (1980/1985), and the US; non-consultative members, with year of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Belarus (2006), Canada (1988), Colombia (1989), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1962/1993), Denmark (1965), Estonia (2001), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Monaco (2008), Papua New Guinea (1981), Portugal (2010), Romania (1971), Slovakia (1962/1993), Switzerland (1990), Turkey (1996), and Venezuela (1999); note - Czechoslovakia acceded to the Treaty in 1962 and separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993; Article 1 - area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose; Article 2 - freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue; Article 3 - free exchange of information and personnel, cooperation with the UN and other international agencies; Article 4 - does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force; Article 5 - prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes; Article 6 - includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south and reserves high seas rights; Article 7 - treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all expeditions and of the introduction of military personnel must be given; Article 8 - allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states; Article 9 - frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations; Article 10 - treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty; Article 11 - disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ; Articles 12, 13, 14 - deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations; other agreements - some 200 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments; a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but remains unratified; the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed 4 October 1991 and entered into force 14 January 1998; this agreement provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through six specific annexes: 1) environmental impact assessment, 2) conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora, 3) waste disposal and waste management, 4) prevention of marine pollution, 5) area protection and management and 6) liability arising from environmental emergencies; it prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific research; a permanent Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was established in 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government and a Commonwealth realm |
| Argentina |
republic |
| Armenia |
republic |
| Aruba |
parliamentary democracy |
| Australia |
federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Austria |
federal republic |
| Azerbaijan |
republic |
| Bahamas, The |
constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Bahrain |
constitutional monarchy |
| Bangladesh |
parliamentary democracy |
| Barbados |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Belarus |
republic in name, although in fact an authoritarian system centered on the executive |
| Belgium |
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy |
| Belize |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Benin |
republic |
| Bermuda |
parliamentary; self-governing territory |
| Bhutan |
constitutional monarchy |
| Bolivia |
republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State" |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
federal democratic republic |
| Botswana |
parliamentary republic |
| Brazil |
federal republic |
| British Virgin Islands |
NA |
| Brunei |
constitutional sultanate (locally known as Malay Islamic Monarchy or MIB) |
| Bulgaria |
parliamentary democracy |
| Burkina Faso |
parliamentary republic |
| Burma |
parliamentary government took power in March 2011 |
| Burundi |
republic |
| Cabo Verde |
republic |
| Cambodia |
multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy |
| Cameroon |
republic; multiparty presidential regime |
| Canada |
a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a constitutional monarchy |
| Cayman Islands |
parliamentary democracy |
| Central African Republic |
republic |
| Chad |
republic |
| Chile |
republic |
| China |
Communist state |
| Christmas Island |
NA |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
NA |
| Colombia |
republic; executive branch dominates government structure |
| Comoros |
republic |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
republic |
| Congo, Republic of the |
republic |
| Cook Islands |
self-governing parliamentary democracy |
| Costa Rica |
democratic republic |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960 |
| Croatia |
parliamentary democracy |
| Cuba |
Communist state |
| Curacao |
parliamentary |
| Cyprus |
republic note: a separation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified after the Turkish intervention in July 1974, following a Greek military-junta-supported coup attempt that gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTAS declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), which is recognized only by Turkey |
| Czech Republic |
parliamentary democracy |
| Denmark |
constitutional monarchy |
| Djibouti |
republic |
| Dominica |
parliamentary democracy |
| Dominican Republic |
democratic republic |
| Ecuador |
republic |
| Egypt |
republic |
| El Salvador |
republic |
| Equatorial Guinea |
republic |
| Eritrea |
authoritarian presidential regime |
| Estonia |
parliamentary republic |
| Ethiopia |
federal republic |
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
NA |
| Faroe Islands |
NA |
| Fiji |
republic |
| Finland |
republic |
| France |
republic |
| French Polynesia |
parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity |
| Gabon |
republic; multiparty presidential regime |
| Gambia, The |
republic |
| Georgia |
republic |
| Germany |
federal republic |
| Ghana |
constitutional democracy |
| Gibraltar |
NA |
| Greece |
parliamentary republic |
| Greenland |
parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy |
| Grenada |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Guam |
NA |
| Guatemala |
constitutional democratic republic |
| Guernsey |
parliamentary democracy |
| Guinea-Bissau |
republic |
| Guinea |
republic |
| Guyana |
republic |
| Haiti |
republic |
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
ecclesiastical |
| Honduras |
democratic constitutional republic |
| Hong Kong |
limited democracy |
| Hungary |
parliamentary democracy |
| Iceland |
constitutional republic |
| India |
federal republic |
| Indonesia |
republic |
| Iran |
theocratic republic |
| Iraq |
parliamentary democracy |
| Ireland |
republic, parliamentary democracy |
| Isle of Man |
parliamentary democracy |
| Israel |
parliamentary democracy |
| Italy |
republic |
| Jamaica |
constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Japan |
a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy |
| Jersey |
parliamentary democracy |
| Jordan |
constitutional monarchy |
| Kazakhstan |
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch |
| Kenya |
republic |
| Kiribati |
republic |
| Korea, North |
Communist state one-man dictatorship |
| Korea, South |
republic |
| Kosovo |
republic |
| Kuwait |
constitutional emirate |
| Kyrgyzstan |
republic |
| Laos |
Communist state |
| Latvia |
parliamentary democracy |
| Lebanon |
republic |
| Lesotho |
parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Liberia |
republic |
| Libya |
operates under a transitional government |
| Liechtenstein |
hereditary constitutional monarchy |
| Lithuania |
parliamentary democracy |
| Luxembourg |
constitutional monarchy |
| Macau |
limited democracy |
| Macedonia |
parliamentary democracy |
| Madagascar |
republic |
| Malawi |
multiparty democracy |
| Malaysia |
constitutional monarchy note: nominally headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the king) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka (Malacca) and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government; powers of state governments are limited by federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls) |
| Maldives |
republic |
| Mali |
republic |
| Malta |
republic |
| Marshall Islands |
constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on 21 October 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004 |
| Mauritania |
presidential republic |
| Mauritius |
parliamentary democracy |
| Mexico |
federal republic |
| Micronesia, Federated States of |
constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on 3 November 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004 |
| Moldova |
republic |
| Monaco |
constitutional monarchy |
| Mongolia |
parliamentary |
| Montenegro |
republic |
| Montserrat |
NA |
| Morocco |
constitutional monarchy |
| Mozambique |
republic |
| Namibia |
republic |
| Nauru |
republic |
| Nepal |
federal democratic republic |
| Netherlands |
constitutional monarchy |
| New Caledonia |
parliamentary representative democracy |
| New Zealand |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Nicaragua |
republic |
| Nigeria |
federal republic |
| Niger |
republic |
| Niue |
self-governing parliamentary democracy |
| Norfolk Island |
NA |
| Northern Mariana Islands |
commonwealth; self-governing with locally elected governor, lieutenant governor, and legislature |
| Norway |
constitutional monarchy |
| Oman |
monarchy |
| Pakistan |
federal republic |
| Palau |
constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on 1 October 1994 |
| Panama |
constitutional democracy |
| Papua New Guinea |
constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Paraguay |
constitutional republic |
| Peru |
constitutional republic |
| Philippines |
republic |
| Pitcairn Islands |
NA |
| Poland |
republic |
| Portugal |
republic; parliamentary democracy |
| Puerto Rico |
commonwealth |
| Qatar |
emirate |
| Romania |
republic |
| Russia |
federation |
| Rwanda |
republic; presidential, multiparty system |
| Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha |
NA |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Saint Lucia |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
parliamentary representative democracy |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Samoa |
parliamentary democracy |
| San Marino |
republic |
| Sao Tome and Principe |
republic |
| Saudi Arabia |
monarchy |
| Senegal |
republic |
| Serbia |
republic |
| Seychelles |
republic |
| Sierra Leone |
constitutional democracy |
| Singapore |
parliamentary republic |
| Sint Maarten |
parliamentary |
| Slovakia |
parliamentary democracy |
| Slovenia |
parliamentary republic |
| Solomon Islands |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Somalia |
in the process of building a federal parliamentary republic |
| South Africa |
republic |
| South Sudan |
republic |
| Spain |
parliamentary monarchy |
| Sri Lanka |
republic |
| Sudan |
federal republic ruled by the National Congress Party (NCP), which seized power by military coup in 1989; the CPA-mandated Government of National Unity, which between 2005 and 2011 provided a percentage of leadership posts to the southern Sudan-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), was disbanded following the secession of South Sudan |
| Suriname |
constitutional democracy |
| Svalbard |
NA |
| Swaziland |
monarchy |
| Sweden |
constitutional monarchy |
| Switzerland |
formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic |
| Syria |
republic under an authoritarian regime |
| Taiwan |
multiparty democracy |
| Tajikistan |
republic |
| Tanzania |
republic |
| Thailand |
constitutional monarchy |
| Timor-Leste |
republic |
| Togo |
republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule |
| Tokelau |
NA |
| Tonga |
constitutional monarchy |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
parliamentary democracy |
| Tunisia |
republic |
| Turkey |
republican parliamentary democracy |
| Turkmenistan |
defines itself as a secular democracy and a presidential republic; in actuality displays authoritarian presidential rule with power concentrated within the presidential administration |
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
NA |
| Tuvalu |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Uganda |
republic |
| Ukraine |
republic |
| United Arab Emirates |
federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates |
| United Kingdom |
constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm |
| United States |
constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition |
| Uruguay |
constitutional republic |
| Uzbekistan |
republic; authoritarian presidential rule with little power outside the executive branch |
| Vanuatu |
parliamentary republic |
| Venezuela |
federal republic |
| Vietnam |
Communist state |
| Virgin Islands |
NA |
| Wallis and Futuna |
parliamentary representive democratic French overseas collectivity |
| Western Sahara |
legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), based out of refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ |
| Yemen |
republic |
| Zambia |
republic |
| Zimbabwe |
parliamentary democracy |