List of socialist countries
Encyclopedia
This is a list of countries, past and present, that declared themselves socialist
either in their names or their constitution
s. No other criteria are used; thus, some or all of these countries may not fit any specific definition of socialism. Their only common feature is using the label "socialist" for themselves, under any interpretation. There are few, if any, definitions of socialism that could fit all the countries on this list. However, most definitions of socialism fit at least some of these countries at some points in their histories.
There are many countries that have been ruled by socialist political parties
for extended periods of time without ever adopting socialism as an official ideology in their names or constitutions. Such countries are not listed here. However, see the article on the Socialist International
for an up-to-date list of countries that are currently ruled by member parties of the SI (the largest present day organization of socialist political parties).
Conversely, there are some countries that maintain constitutional references to socialism without being currently ruled by a socialist political party. Those countries are included on this list.
s" in the east, because their ruling parties generally use the name "Communist Party of [country]." However, the countries themselves are referred to as socialist republics, not communist, in their own constitutions. They are defined by a form of government
in which the state
operates under a one-party system
and declares allegiance to the ideology of Marxism-Leninism
. In accordance with Marxism-Leninism, the constitutions of these countries claim that all power belongs to the working class
, that a democratic
dictatorship of the proletariat
has been implemented within their borders, and that they are building socialism, with the goal of achieving communism
one day.
Western countries view socialism and communism as two distinct forms of political economy
. Concerning socialism
, it regards the welfare of its people like communism does in the sense that wealth is redistributed the same way, but taxes are higher. As for communism, Western countries regard communism as the opposite of capitalism; in which money itself is redistributed equally among everyone so that they may have a similar lifestyle. Whether their lifestyle is actually similar remains irrelevant in that sense.
Furthermore, the West views communism as being a state run by the government for the greater good of all the people. As for those who see the difference between communism and socialism in the West, they view socialism as being a state run by the government without regard for the individual, only the people collective.
since 1954) (since September 9, 1948, see: Constitution of North Korea
). In 1992, all references to Marxism-Leninism were removed from the constitution and Juche
became the official philosophy. But Juche was also described as a creative application of Marxism-Leninism.
(April 27, 1978 - April 28, 1992) People's Socialist Republic of Albania
(January 1, 1946 - March 22, 1992) People's Republic of Angola
(November 11, 1975 - August 27, 1992) Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia
(July 31, 1920 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) People's Republic of Benin
(November 30, 1975 - March 1, 1990) People's Republic of Bulgaria (September 15, 1946 - December 7, 1990) People's Republic of the Congo
(January 3, 1970 - March 15, 1992) Czechoslovak Republic (June 9, 1948 - July 11, 1960) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
(July 11, 1960 - March 29, 1990) Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia
(June 28, 1974 - September 10, 1987) People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
(September 10, 1987 - May 27, 1991) German Democratic Republic (October 7, 1949 - October 3, 1990) Political Committee of National Liberation
(Greece) (December 24, 1947 - August 28, 1949) People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada
(March 13, 1979 - October 25, 1983) People's Republic of Hungary
(August 20, 1949 - October 23, 1989) Democratic Kampuchea
(April 4, 1976 - January 7, 1979) People's Republic of Kampuchea
(January 7, 1979 - May 1, 1989) Mongolian People's Republic (November 24, 1924 - February 12, 1992) People's Republic of Mozambique
(June 25, 1975 - December 1, 1990) People's Republic of Poland
(June 28, 1945 - July 19, 1989) Socialist Republic of Romania
(December 30, 1947 - December 21, 1989) Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (November 7, 1917 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Somali Democratic Republic
(October 21, 1976 - January 26, 1991) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(December 30, 1922 - December 26, 1991) Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (March 12, 1922 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Tuvan People's Republic (August 14, 1921 - October 11, 1944) (annexed by the USSR) Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic
(March 10, 1919 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Democratic Republic of Vietnam
(September 2, 1945 - July 2, 1976) People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (November 30, 1967 - May 22, 1990) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(November 29, 1943 - October 8, 1991 / April 27, 1992)
as their ideology at some point in their history. Tanzania, on the other hand, adopted African socialism
as its official doctrine.
) (see Constitution of Guyana) (since 15 August 1947, see Constitution of India
) (since 1974, see Constitution of Portugal
) (since 7 September 1978, see Constitution of Sri Lanka
) (9 March 1963, see Constitution of Syria
) (since 26 April 1964)
(4 August 1984 - 15 October 1987) Union of Burma
(4 January 1948 - 2 March 1962) Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (2 March 1962 - 23 September 1988) Republic of Cape Verde (8 July 1975 - 22 March 1991) State of Comoros
(3 August 1975 - 13 May 1978) Republic of Egypt (23 July 1952 - 22 February 1958) Republic of Ghana (6 March 1957 - 24 February 1966), (31 December 1981 - 7 January 2001) People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea
(2 October 1958 – 3 April 1984) Republic of Guinea-Bissau (24 September 1973 - 17 February 2000) Republic of Indonesia (18 August 1945 - 12 March 1967) Republic of Iraq (14 July 1958 - 8 February 1963) Libyan Arab Republic (1 September 1969 - 2 March 1977) Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (2 March 1977 - 2011) Democratic Republic of Madagascar (21 December 1975 - 19 August 1992) Republic of Mali (20 July 1960 - 19 November 1968) United Mexican States (5 February 1917 - 1 December 2000) Republic of Nicaragua (18 July 1979 - 25 April 1990) Republic of Panama (11 October 1968 - 31 July 1981) Republic of Peru (3 October 1968 - 30 August 1975) Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (12 July 1975 - 3 April 1991) Republic of Senegal (6 September 1960 - 1 April 2000) Republic of Seychelles (5 June 1977 - 26 July 1992) Spanish Republic
(14 April 1931 - 15 July 1939) Democratic Republic of Sudan (25 May 1969 – 10 October 1985) Republic of Suriname (25 February 1980 - 25 January 1988) Republic of Tanganyika
(9 December 1962 - 26 April 1964) Republic of Uganda (15 April 1966 - 25 January 1971) Union of African States
(23 November 1958 - 1962) United Arab Republic
(22 February 1958 – 28 September 1961) Yemen Arab Republic
(27 September 1962 - 22 May 1990) Republic of Zambia (24 October 1964 - 2 November 1991) People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba
(12 January - 26 April 1964)
s or revolution
s (mostly in the aftermath of World War I
) and declared themselves to be socialist under some interpretation of the term, but did not survive long enough to create a stable government or achieve international recognition.
Democratic Government of Albania
(October 20, 1944 - January 11, 1946) Alsace Soviet Republic (November 9–22, 1918) Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (December, 1920 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) Asturian miners' strike of 1934 (de facto October 5–18, 1934) Azerbaijan People's Government
(November 1945 – December 1946) Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (April 2, 1920 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) Bavarian Soviet Republic
(April 6 – May 3, 1919) Saxony Soviet
(November, 1918 - March 14, 1919) Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic
(May – September 1919) Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
(October 8, 1920 – February 17, 1925) Socialist Republic of Chile
(4 June - 13 September 1932) (November 7, 1931 - October 10, 1934) Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic
(February 12 – May 1918) Estonian Workers' Commune (November 29, 1918 – June 5, 1919) Far Eastern Republic
(April 6, 1920 – November 15, 1922) Finnish Democratic Republic
(December 1, 1939 - March 12, 1940) Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic
(January 28 – April 29, 1918) Galician Soviet Socialist Republic
(July 8 – September 21, 1920) National Revolutionary Council of Gambia (July 30, 1981 - August 5, 1981) Socialist Soviet Republic of Georgia (February 25, 1921 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) German Socialist Republic (November 9, 1918 – August 11, 1919) Hunan Soviet (1927) Hungarian Soviet Republic
(March 21 – August 6, 1919) Khorazmian People's Soviet Republic (April 26, 1920 – October 20, 1923) People's Republic of Korea
(September 6, 1945 - February, 1946) Provisional People's Committee for North Korea
(February, 1946 - September 9, 1948) Limerick Soviet
(April 15–27, 1919) Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
(February 27 – August 25, 1919) Republic of Mahabad
(January 22 – December 15, 1946) Mughan Soviet Republic
(March – June 1919) Soviet Republic of Naissaar
(December 1917 – February 26, 1918) Paris Commune
(March 18 – May 28, 1871, first socialist republic in history) Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
(June 9, 1920 – September 1921) Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (April 30, 1975 – June 2, 1976) Slovak Soviet Republic
(June 16 – July 7, 1919) Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic
(April 30, 1918 – October 27, 1924) Democratic Republic of Yemen
(May 21 – July 7, 1994)
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
either in their names or their constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
s. No other criteria are used; thus, some or all of these countries may not fit any specific definition of socialism. Their only common feature is using the label "socialist" for themselves, under any interpretation. There are few, if any, definitions of socialism that could fit all the countries on this list. However, most definitions of socialism fit at least some of these countries at some points in their histories.
There are many countries that have been ruled by socialist political parties
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
for extended periods of time without ever adopting socialism as an official ideology in their names or constitutions. Such countries are not listed here. However, see the article on the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
for an up-to-date list of countries that are currently ruled by member parties of the SI (the largest present day organization of socialist political parties).
Conversely, there are some countries that maintain constitutional references to socialism without being currently ruled by a socialist political party. Those countries are included on this list.
Marxist-Leninist
These countries known as "Communist stateCommunist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
s" in the east, because their ruling parties generally use the name "Communist Party of [country]." However, the countries themselves are referred to as socialist republics, not communist, in their own constitutions. They are defined by a form of government
Form of government
A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
in which the state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
operates under a one-party system
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
and declares allegiance to the ideology of Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
. In accordance with Marxism-Leninism, the constitutions of these countries claim that all power belongs to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, that a democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
has been implemented within their borders, and that they are building socialism, with the goal of achieving communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
one day.
Western countries view socialism and communism as two distinct forms of political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. Concerning socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, it regards the welfare of its people like communism does in the sense that wealth is redistributed the same way, but taxes are higher. As for communism, Western countries regard communism as the opposite of capitalism; in which money itself is redistributed equally among everyone so that they may have a similar lifestyle. Whether their lifestyle is actually similar remains irrelevant in that sense.
Furthermore, the West views communism as being a state run by the government for the greater good of all the people. As for those who see the difference between communism and socialism in the West, they view socialism as being a state run by the government without regard for the individual, only the people collective.
Current
(since October 1, 1949) (since January 1, 1959) (since December 2, 1975) (officially in reunified Vietnam since July 2, 1976, but in the NorthNorth Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
since 1954) (since September 9, 1948, see: Constitution of North Korea
Constitution of North Korea
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea.Previous constitutions were adopted in 1948, 1972, 1992, and 1998...
). In 1992, all references to Marxism-Leninism were removed from the constitution and Juche
Juche
Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
became the official philosophy. But Juche was also described as a creative application of Marxism-Leninism.
Former
Democratic Republic of AfghanistanDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
(April 27, 1978 - April 28, 1992) People's Socialist Republic of Albania
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The People's Republic of Albania was the official name of Albania during the communist rule between 1946 and 1976. The 1976 Constitution changed the name into People's Socialist Republic of Albania , which was the official name of the country from 1976 until 1991.-Consolidation of power and...
(January 1, 1946 - March 22, 1992) People's Republic of Angola
People's Republic of Angola
The People's Republic of Angola was a self-declared socialist state that was established in 1975 after it was granted independence from Portugal, akin to the situation in Mozambique. The newly-founded nation enjoyed friendly relations with the Soviet Union, Cuba, and the People's Republic of...
(November 11, 1975 - August 27, 1992) Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
(July 31, 1920 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) People's Republic of Benin
People's Republic of Benin
The People's Republic of Benin was a socialist state located in the Gulf of Guinea on the African continent, which would become present-day Benin. The People's Republic was established on November 30, 1975, shortly after the 1972 coup d'état in the Republic of Dahomey...
(November 30, 1975 - March 1, 1990) People's Republic of Bulgaria (September 15, 1946 - December 7, 1990) People's Republic of the Congo
People's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
(January 3, 1970 - March 15, 1992) Czechoslovak Republic (June 9, 1948 - July 11, 1960) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 until end of 1989 , a Soviet satellite state of the Eastern Bloc....
(July 11, 1960 - March 29, 1990) Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
(June 28, 1974 - September 10, 1987) People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was the official name of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991, as established by the Communist government of Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Workers' Party of Ethiopia...
(September 10, 1987 - May 27, 1991) German Democratic Republic (October 7, 1949 - October 3, 1990) Political Committee of National Liberation
Political Committee of National Liberation
The Political Committee of National Liberation , commonly known as the "Mountain Government" was a communist-dominated government established in Greece in 1944 in opposition to both the collaborationist German-controlled government at Athens and to the royal government-in-exile in Cairo...
(Greece) (December 24, 1947 - August 28, 1949) People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada
People's Revolutionary Government
The People's Revolutionary Government was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution...
(March 13, 1979 - October 25, 1983) People's Republic of Hungary
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
(August 20, 1949 - October 23, 1989) Democratic Kampuchea
Democratic Kampuchea
The Khmer Rouge period refers to the rule of Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Khieu Samphan and the Khmer Rouge Communist party over Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge renamed as Democratic Kampuchea....
(April 4, 1976 - January 7, 1979) People's Republic of Kampuchea
People's Republic of Kampuchea
The People's Republic of Kampuchea , , was founded in Cambodia by the Salvation Front, a group of Cambodian leftists dissatisfied with the Khmer Rouge, after the overthrow of Democratic Kampuchea, Pol Pot's government...
(January 7, 1979 - May 1, 1989) Mongolian People's Republic (November 24, 1924 - February 12, 1992) People's Republic of Mozambique
People's Republic of Mozambique
The People's Republic of Mozambique , was a self-declared socialist state that lasted from June 25, 1975 through December 1, 1990, becoming the present day Republic of Mozambique.After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, the People's Republic of Mozambique was established shortly...
(June 25, 1975 - December 1, 1990) People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
(June 28, 1945 - July 19, 1989) Socialist Republic of Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
(December 30, 1947 - December 21, 1989) Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (November 7, 1917 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Somali Democratic Republic
Somali Democratic Republic
The Somali Democratic Republic was the name that the communist regime of former President of Somalia Major General Mohamed Siad Barre gave to Somalia after seizing power during a bloodless coup d'état in 1969...
(October 21, 1976 - January 26, 1991) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(December 30, 1922 - December 26, 1991) Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (March 12, 1922 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Tuvan People's Republic (August 14, 1921 - October 11, 1944) (annexed by the USSR) Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
(March 10, 1919 - December 30, 1922) (incorporated into the USSR) Democratic Republic of Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
(September 2, 1945 - July 2, 1976) People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (November 30, 1967 - May 22, 1990) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
(November 29, 1943 - October 8, 1991 / April 27, 1992)
Non-Marxist-Leninist
These are countries whose constitutions make references to socialism, but do not subscribe to Marxist-Leninist ideology. As such, they represent a wide variety of different interpretations of the term socialism. Countries such as Egypt and Libya, for example, have adopted different versions of Arab socialismArab socialism
Arab socialism is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and socialism. Arab socialism is distinct from the much broader tradition of socialist thought in the Arab world, which predates Arab socialism by as much as fifty years...
as their ideology at some point in their history. Tanzania, on the other hand, adopted African socialism
African socialism
African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a "traditional" African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied...
as its official doctrine.
Constitutional references
(since 16 December 1971, see Constitution of BangladeshConstitution of Bangladesh
The Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of Bangladesh. It declares Bangladesh as a secular democratic republic where sovereignty belongs to the people; and lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles of the state and spells out the fundamental rights of citizens...
) (see Constitution of Guyana) (since 15 August 1947, see Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
) (since 1974, see Constitution of Portugal
Constitution of Portugal
The first Portuguese Constitution was drafted in 1822. Several revolutions led to the constitutions of 1826 , 1838 , 1911 , 1933 , and 1976 ....
) (since 7 September 1978, see Constitution of Sri Lanka
Constitution of Sri Lanka
The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. It is Sri Lanka's second republican constitution, and its third constitution since the...
) (9 March 1963, see Constitution of Syria
Constitution of Syria
The Constitution of Syria delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things, it determines Syria's character to be Arab, Socialist and republican...
) (since 26 April 1964)
Former
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (15 September 1963 - 1988) Republic of Bolivia (26 September 1969 - 21 August 1971) Burkina FasoBurkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
(4 August 1984 - 15 October 1987) Union of Burma
Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962
The first years of Burmese independence were marked by successive insurgencies by the Red Flag Communists led by Thakin Soe, the White Flag Communists led by Thakin Than Tun, the Yèbaw Hpyu led by Bo La Yaung, a member of the Thirty Comrades, army rebels calling themselves the Revolutionary Burma...
(4 January 1948 - 2 March 1962) Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (2 March 1962 - 23 September 1988) Republic of Cape Verde (8 July 1975 - 22 March 1991) State of Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
(3 August 1975 - 13 May 1978) Republic of Egypt (23 July 1952 - 22 February 1958) Republic of Ghana (6 March 1957 - 24 February 1966), (31 December 1981 - 7 January 2001) People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
(2 October 1958 – 3 April 1984) Republic of Guinea-Bissau (24 September 1973 - 17 February 2000) Republic of Indonesia (18 August 1945 - 12 March 1967) Republic of Iraq (14 July 1958 - 8 February 1963) Libyan Arab Republic (1 September 1969 - 2 March 1977) Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (2 March 1977 - 2011) Democratic Republic of Madagascar (21 December 1975 - 19 August 1992) Republic of Mali (20 July 1960 - 19 November 1968) United Mexican States (5 February 1917 - 1 December 2000) Republic of Nicaragua (18 July 1979 - 25 April 1990) Republic of Panama (11 October 1968 - 31 July 1981) Republic of Peru (3 October 1968 - 30 August 1975) Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (12 July 1975 - 3 April 1991) Republic of Senegal (6 September 1960 - 1 April 2000) Republic of Seychelles (5 June 1977 - 26 July 1992) Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
(14 April 1931 - 15 July 1939) Democratic Republic of Sudan (25 May 1969 – 10 October 1985) Republic of Suriname (25 February 1980 - 25 January 1988) Republic of Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
(9 December 1962 - 26 April 1964) Republic of Uganda (15 April 1966 - 25 January 1971) Union of African States
Union of African States
The Union of African States, was a short lasting union of first two, then three African states in West Africa, in the 1960s. These states were Ghana, Guinea, and Mali...
(23 November 1958 - 1962) United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
(22 February 1958 – 28 September 1961) Yemen Arab Republic
Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic , also known as North Yemen or Yemen , was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen...
(27 September 1962 - 22 May 1990) Republic of Zambia (24 October 1964 - 2 November 1991) People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba
People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba
The People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba was a state consisting of the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago. It existed for less than a year before it merged with Tanganyika to create the United Republic of Tanzania.-History:...
(12 January - 26 April 1964)
Ephemeral
These are short-lived political entities that emerged during warWar
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
s or revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
s (mostly in the aftermath of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) and declared themselves to be socialist under some interpretation of the term, but did not survive long enough to create a stable government or achieve international recognition.
Democratic Government of Albania
Democratic Government of Albania
As the Albanian partisan resistance of 1940-1944 came to a close, a provisional Democratic Government of Albania was established on October 20, 1944 by a second meeting of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council. It fully took power after the liberation of the country from German forces on...
(October 20, 1944 - January 11, 1946) Alsace Soviet Republic (November 9–22, 1918) Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (December, 1920 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) Asturian miners' strike of 1934 (de facto October 5–18, 1934) Azerbaijan People's Government
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government was a short-lived, Soviet-backed client state in northern Iran. Established in Iranian Azerbaijan, the APG's capital was the city of Tabriz...
(November 1945 – December 1946) Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (April 2, 1920 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) Bavarian Soviet Republic
Bavarian Soviet Republic
The Bavarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Munich Soviet Republic was, as part of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the short-lived attempt to establish a socialist state in form of a council republic in the Free State of Bavaria. It sought independence from the also recently proclaimed...
(April 6 – May 3, 1919) Saxony Soviet
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
(November, 1918 - March 14, 1919) Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic or Bessarabian SSR was a government formed by Bolsheviks as part of their plans to establish control over Bessarabia, which was united with Romania in the course of events after the Russian Revolution of 1917...
(May – September 1919) Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet state which governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution from 1920-1925. In 1924 its name was changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic...
(October 8, 1920 – February 17, 1925) Socialist Republic of Chile
Socialist Republic of Chile
Socialist Republic of Chile was a short-lived political entity in Chile, that was proclaimed by the Government Junta that took over that year.-Background:...
(4 June - 13 September 1932) (November 7, 1931 - October 10, 1934) Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic
Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic
The Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic was a short-lived and never recognized Soviet Republic founded on 12 February 1918 and sought an independence from the Soviet Ukraine...
(February 12 – May 1918) Estonian Workers' Commune (November 29, 1918 – June 5, 1919) Far Eastern Republic
Far Eastern Republic
The Far Eastern Republic , sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally independent state that existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of the Russian Far East...
(April 6, 1920 – November 15, 1922) Finnish Democratic Republic
Finnish Democratic Republic
The Finnish Democratic Republic was a short-lived government dependent on and recognised only by the Soviet Union. It nominally operated in those parts of Finnish Karelia that were occupied by the Soviet Union during the Winter War....
(December 1, 1939 - March 12, 1940) Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic
Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic
The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was a short-lived Finnish socialist government, established by a revolution just prior to the Finnish Civil War and in the aftermath of the October Revolution...
(January 28 – April 29, 1918) Galician Soviet Socialist Republic
Galician Soviet Socialist Republic
The Galician Soviet Socialist Republic existed from July 8, 1920 to September 21, 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War within the area of the South-Western front of the Red Army...
(July 8 – September 21, 1920) National Revolutionary Council of Gambia (July 30, 1981 - August 5, 1981) Socialist Soviet Republic of Georgia (February 25, 1921 - March 12, 1922) (incorporated into Transcaucasian SFSR) German Socialist Republic (November 9, 1918 – August 11, 1919) Hunan Soviet (1927) Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
(March 21 – August 6, 1919) Khorazmian People's Soviet Republic (April 26, 1920 – October 20, 1923) People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of Korea
The People's Republic of Korea was a short-lived provisional government organized to take over control of Korea after the Surrender of Japan at the end of the Pacific War. It operated as the government in late August and early September of 1945 until the United States Army Military Government in...
(September 6, 1945 - February, 1946) Provisional People's Committee for North Korea
Provisional People's Committee for North Korea
The Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea was the official name of the provisional government governing the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula following its post-World War II partition by the United States and the Soviet Union after the defeat of the Empire of Japan in 1945...
(February, 1946 - September 9, 1948) Limerick Soviet
Limerick Soviet
The Limerick Soviet was a self-declared soviet that existed from 15 to 27 April 1919. At the beginning of the Irish War of Independence, a general strike was organised by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council, as a protest against the British army's declaration of a "Special Military Area" under...
(April 15–27, 1919) Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic or Litbel was a Soviet socialist republic, that existed within the territories of modern Belarus and eastern Lithuania for approximately seven months during 1919. It was created after the merger of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and the...
(February 27 – August 25, 1919) Republic of Mahabad
Republic of Mahabad
The Republic of Mahabad , officially known as Republic of Kurdistan and established in Iranian Kurdistan, was a short-lived, Kurdish government that sought Kurdish autonomy within the limits of the Iranian state. The capital was the city of Mahabad in northwestern Iran...
(January 22 – December 15, 1946) Mughan Soviet Republic
Mughan Soviet Republic
The Mughan Soviet Republic was a short-lived pro-Bolshevik state that existed in present-day southeastern Azerbaijan from March to June 1919. It was founded in opposition to the Musavatist Azerbaijani Government in Baku.-See also:...
(March – June 1919) Soviet Republic of Naissaar
Soviet Republic of Naissaar
The Soviet Republic of Soldiers and Fortress-Builders of Naissaar was a revolutionary state that during the First World War controlled the Estonian island of Naissaar in 1917-1918 for a brief period after the October Revolution and prior to the Occupation of Estonia by German Empire.- History :On...
(December 1917 – February 26, 1918) Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
(March 18 – May 28, 1871, first socialist republic in history) Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 until September 1921...
(June 9, 1920 – September 1921) Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (April 30, 1975 – June 2, 1976) Slovak Soviet Republic
Slovak Soviet Republic
The Slovak Soviet Republic comprised a very short-lived communist state in south and eastern Slovakia from 16 June to 7 July 1919, with its capital in...
(June 16 – July 7, 1919) Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic
Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created from the Turkestan Krai of Imperial Russia...
(April 30, 1918 – October 27, 1924) Democratic Republic of Yemen
Democratic Republic of Yemen
The Democratic Republic of Yemen was declared in May 1994. The DRY, with its capital in Aden, was led by President Ali Salim al-Beidh and Prime Minister Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas and represented a response to the weakening position of the South in the Yemeni civil war of 1994...
(May 21 – July 7, 1994)