List of countries by system of government

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

Table of contents

1 Democratic republics
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 president and legislature.

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.

Absolute monarchies

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

Authoritarian republics

In which a country is governed by a dictatorial president (autocracy) or single party heirarchy that does not allow for opposition.

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.

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