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Monarchy or republic?

A monarchy has a king, queen, emir or similar as head of state, usually for life and by inheritance. A republic has a head of state who is elected or chosen, directly or indirectly. Fifteen countries share one monarch as the Commonwealth realms, and the rest of the monarchies have their own.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Does the country have a monarch as head of state, or a president?

Not yet covered
AfghanistanÅland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAshmore and Cartier IslandsAustraliaAustralian Indian Ocean TerritoriesAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern and Antarctic LandsGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaNorthern CyprusNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRepublic of the CongoRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint-BarthélemySamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSomalilandSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Commonwealth realm (shares the UK monarch) (14)

Monarchy with its own monarch (28)

Republic (152)

Read this before you quote the map

  • 'Republic' here covers every form of non-monarchy, including one-party states. It says nothing about how democratic a country is.
  • Some monarchies are fully constitutional, with a king who has little power, and others are absolute or have wide royal powers.
  • Samoa is left out because its head of state is chosen by parliament in a way that does not fit neatly either way.
  • Commonwealth realms can and do change: Barbados became a republic in 2021.

Sources

Cite this map

TheLawToKnow Tools. Legal World Maps: Monarchy or republic?. https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/legal-world-maps/monarchy-or-republic.

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