This is a list of sovereign states 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 red 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.
Certain states have been defined as having more than one system of government or a hybrid system – for instance, Poland possesses a semi-presidential government where the President appoints the Prime Minister or can veto legislation passed by parliament, but its Constitution defines the country as a parliamentary republic and its ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence.
List of countries
Map
Legend
Note: this chart represent systems of government, not the degree of democracy. Several states that are constitutional republics are in practice ruled as authoritarian states.
UN member states and observers
Other states
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 they serve purely at the discretion of the president.
The following list includes democratic and non-democratic states:
Presidential systems without a prime minister
Nations with limited recognition are in italics.
Presidential systems with a Supreme Leader
Presidential systems with a prime minister
The following countries have presidential systems where a post of prime minister (official title may vary) exists alongside that of the president. The president is still both the head of state and government and the prime minister's roles are mostly to assist the president.
(see Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers)
(see Prime Cabinet Secretary)
(see Chief minister)
Nations with limited recognition are in italics.
Semi-presidential systems
In semi-presidential systems, there is always both a president and a head of government, commonly but not exclusively styled as a prime minister. In such systems, the president has genuine executive authority, but the role of a head of government may be exercised by the prime minister.
Premier-presidential systems
The president chooses a prime minister and cabinet from the parliament with approval from the parliament, however 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.
Nations with limited recognition are in italics.
President-parliamentary systems
The president is head of state and the prime minister is head of government, although the prime minister generally works under the discretion of the former more so than in a premier-presidential system. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet without a confidence vote from the parliament, but must have the support of a parliamentary majority for their selection. In order to remove a prime minister or their cabinet from power, the president may dismiss them or the parliament can remove them by a vote of no confidence.
Nations with limited recognition are in italics.
Parliamentary republican and related systems
In a parliamentary republic, the head of government is selected or nominated by the legislature and is also accountable to it. The head of state is ordinarily called a president and (in full parliamentary republics) is separate from the head of government, serving a largely apolitical, ceremonial role. In these systems, the head of government is usually called the 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.