Political Systems by Country

Argentina is a federal presidential republic of twenty-three provinces and an autonomous capital. Since late 2023 its government has pursued sharp spending cuts, deregulation and privatisation aimed at ending chronic inflation and opening the economy.

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Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy of six states and two territories with compulsory voting. It combines a market economy and public health insurance with an official multicultural policy and a security alliance with the United States.

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Bhutan is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy that held its first national elections in 2008. State policy is guided by Gross National Happiness, which prioritises Buddhist cultural preservation, environmental protection and cautious economic opening.

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Brazil is a federal presidential republic of twenty-six states and a federal district. Its current government emphasises social programmes, environmental protection of the Amazon and multilateral diplomacy within a mixed, relatively protected economy.

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Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy of ten provinces and three territories. It combines a market economy with public healthcare, official bilingualism and a long-standing state policy of multiculturalism.

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Chile is a unitary presidential republic with one of Latin America's most open, market-oriented economies. Its politics alternate between centre-left and conservative governments, with current priorities on public security, immigration control and fiscal restraint.

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China is a unitary one-party state led by the Communist Party. It combines state planning and large state-owned enterprises with a vast private sector, extensive information controls and an industrial policy focused on advanced technology.

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Colombia is a unitary presidential republic with decentralised departments and a 1991 constitution that recognises ethnic and cultural diversity. Its governments balance market economics, social reform and efforts to end decades of internal armed conflict.

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Cuba is a one-party socialist republic in which the Communist Party is the only legal party. The state owns most of the economy, provides universal health care and education, and permits limited private enterprise.

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El Salvador is a unitary presidential republic whose governing party holds a legislative supermajority. Since 2022 a prolonged state of exception has underpinned a mass-incarceration security policy, alongside a dollarised, business-friendly economy and technology promotion.

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Estonia is a unitary parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO. It is known for digital government and online voting, a simple low-tax market economy and high defence spending relative to its size.

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France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with a strong central state and a strictly secular public sphere. It has an extensive welfare system, a nuclear-armed military and a leading role in the European Union.

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Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states with a social market economy. It is a central member of the European Union and NATO and has sharply increased defence spending since 2022.

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Hungary is a unitary parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO. Its politics since 2010 have been shaped by national-conservative policies on migration, family and sovereignty, alongside an open, export-oriented economy.

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India is a federal parliamentary republic of twenty-eight states and the world's most populous democracy. Its current government pursues Hindu-nationalist cultural politics, strategic autonomy abroad, industrial incentives and large-scale digital public infrastructure.

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Iran is an Islamic republic in which a Shia cleric serving as Supreme Leader holds final authority over elected institutions. The state enforces religious law, controls much of the economy and faces extensive international sanctions.

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Israel is a unitary parliamentary republic with a proportionally elected legislature and no single written constitution. It has a technology-driven market economy, universal conscription and a 2018 basic law defining the state as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

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Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic of twenty regions and a founding member of the European Union. Its current national-conservative government stresses migration control, family policy and national identity while keeping Atlantic and European commitments.

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Japan is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy whose constitution renounces war. It has a large private economy guided by industrial policy, limited immigration, conservative family law and a close security alliance with the United States.

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Mexico is a federal presidential republic of thirty-one states and Mexico City. Its current government pairs expanded social programmes and state-led energy policy with a secular constitution and deep trade integration with North America.

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New Zealand is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a single-chamber legislature elected by proportional representation. It has a liberalised, trade-dependent economy, a nuclear-free policy and a constitutional relationship with Māori through the Treaty of Waitangi.

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Nigeria is a federal presidential republic of thirty-six states and Africa's most populous country. Its government has removed fuel subsidies and floated the currency, while religion strongly shapes law and public life across regions.

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North Korea is a hereditary one-party state governed by the Kim family and the Workers' Party of Korea. Its state ideology of self-reliance underpins a command economy, a nuclear weapons programme and tight control over information.

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Poland is a unitary parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO. It spends a larger share of its economy on defence than any other ally and retains socially conservative laws alongside rapid market-led growth.

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Portugal is a unitary semi-presidential republic with autonomous regions in the Azores and Madeira. A member of the European Union and NATO, it pairs a market economy with a public health service and liberal social laws.

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Russia is formally a federal semi-presidential republic in which power is concentrated in the presidency. The state dominates energy and other strategic sectors, promotes traditional values, and has waged a full-scale war in Ukraine since 2022.

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Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy whose Basic Law is grounded in Islamic law. Under the Vision 2030 programme the state is using oil wealth to diversify the economy and loosen some social restrictions while prohibiting political dissent.

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Singapore is a unitary parliamentary republic and city-state governed by the same party since 1959. It pairs one of the world's most open trading economies with strict public-order laws and an official policy of multiracialism.

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South Africa is a parliamentary republic with nine provinces and a constitution noted for its broad rights guarantees. Governed by a multiparty coalition since 2024, it has a mixed economy with extensive social grants and empowerment policies.

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South Korea is a unitary presidential republic with a directly elected president and a single-chamber legislature. It has an export-driven economy led by large conglomerates, universal male conscription and a security alliance with the United States.

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Spain is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy divided into seventeen autonomous communities with wide self-government. Its current government combines pro-European policy, progressive social legislation and labour protections within a regulated market economy.

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Sweden is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a tax-funded universal welfare state and an open, export-oriented economy. It joined NATO in 2024 after two centuries of non-alignment and has tightened migration policy.

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Switzerland is a federal republic of twenty-six cantons governed by a seven-member collegial executive and frequent referendums. It maintains armed neutrality, stays outside the European Union and has a low-tax, highly competitive market economy.

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Turkey is a unitary presidential republic with a strong executive established by a 2017 constitutional change. Its government combines conservative social policy and an assertive foreign policy with a large private economy and NATO membership.

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The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven hereditary emirates without political parties. It has built a low-tax trade, finance and logistics hub on oil wealth, relies on a large expatriate workforce and invests heavily in technology.

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The United Kingdom is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It combines a market economy with a public health service and remains a nuclear-armed NATO member outside the European Union.

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The United States is a federal presidential republic of fifty states with a market economy and the world's largest military. Federal policy in 2025–2026 favours tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement and deregulation.

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Uruguay is a unitary presidential republic known for stable democratic institutions and a strongly secular state. It combines a broad welfare system and public utilities with liberal social laws and an export-oriented economy.

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Venezuela is formally a federal presidential republic, though power is concentrated in the national executive and the ruling United Socialist Party. Its oil-dependent, state-dominated economy has undergone prolonged crisis, sanctions and partial liberalisation.

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Vietnam is a unitary one-party socialist republic led by the Communist Party. Since the Doi Moi reforms of 1986 it has combined party control of politics with a market-based, export-oriented economy and non-aligned foreign policy.

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